By Dave Fidlin
Editor
Citing a desire to bring clarity to residents and have a clearly worded ordinance on its hands, Town of Waterford officials are in the process of drafting a document pertaining to culverts and ditches and where the responsibility lies as issues crop up.
The Town Board on July 13 discussed the preliminary steps in addressing the issue, which has stemmed from flooding and other natural events. The ordinance is designed to draw a clear delineation between the town and resident’s responsibilities.
When Department of Public Works head Ken Hinz or any other town staffer inspects a drainage issue, one of the first and most important steps is getting at the root of the issue. For issues related to drainage pipes, the town generally is the responsible party.
“We need to fix our own issues, but anything beyond that is (private property owners’) problem,” Town Chairman Tom Hincz said.
Town Attorney Michael Dubis has been tasked with drafting an ordinance that will be reviewed and acted on in upcoming months. He offered insight on past issues within the community.
“People think a culvert is the homeowner’s responsibility,” Dubis said. “It isn’t.”
But within the guise of flooding and other issues, there are times where the root cause is simply a civil dispute between two adjacent property owners — particularly in cases involving sourcing water drainage.
“We really need to stay away from private water disputes,” Dubis said. “We’ve taken a position over the years about not getting involved. These are private disputes between people, not us.”
Once the ordinance is in place, Hincz said he wanted to ensure property owners throughout the town were aware the document was in place.
“We need to make sure that whatever we come up with is made very public,” he said.
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