Writer  /  Alaina Sullivan
Photographer  /  Jim Eichelman

Owning a home comes with a lot of responsibilities, and they do not just include maintenance of the home. As a homeowner, your duties extend to the yard and structures on the yard in addition to the actual house structure. This includes general drainage and maintenance of the drains and even installing a new set up from lawn drainage system near sugar land. Generally speaking, a ditch is a trench for drainage while a swale is a low tract of moist, often grass-covered, land.

“Roadside ditches along public roads are generally the responsibility of the Highway Department, but any ditches/swales on private property are the responsibility of the property owner and Homeowners Association (HOA),” said David Hittle, Director of Johnson County Department of Planning and Zoning.

BASIC MAINTENANCE OF YOUR PROPERTY’S DRAINAGE
Property owners are to keep the drainage swales clean and free of debris. These areas include side yard or rear yard swales as well as tributaries and creeks located around the home.

“For ditches and swales, it is important to not erect structures, berms, landscape islands, fences or the like within them,” said Hittle. “Also, ditches and swales which are subject to collecting sediment over time need to be cleaned out occasionally.”

Maintenance can be basic or fairly complex. It simply depends on the drain, its quality and upkeep. “It depends on the drain, it depends on the swale,” said Christopher Jones, Greenwood City Superintendent. “Generally, just keeping up with the mowing and [avoiding] planting trees as well as encroaching with fences and or yard barns” will ensure free-running water. For complex residential drain cleaning work that involves pipes, you may need the help of a professional plumber. There are drain cleaning professionals like Jake’s Plumbing Services in Gilroy, CA who have the necessary tools and skills to get the job done.

Knowing where to plant and what to keep clear can add extra work, but in the end, it could save you a lot of work in the future. “Just because it is wet there often does not mean you should plant a little tree there,” said Jones. “It is really not a good idea to plant a tree in an easement.”

The problem does not necessarily show up immediately upon planting the tree but more so as it matures. “Their root ball then raises the ground around [the tree] as it matures and grows,” said Jones. That would result not only in the removal of the tree but extensive work to restore the soil around it, neither of which are low-cost fixes.

If your house was built before 1986, your plumbing may have lead solder. If you suspect you have lead in your plumbing, learn how to check if you use lead pipes from Ardent Utilities article.

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COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS
One of the more common misconceptions people have is the result of a property owner not understanding what an easement is, said Jones.

Just because you did not put the swale or drain there does not mean it is not your responsibility. Unless it is on city property, said Jones, the responsibility rests in the hands of the homeowners. Most, however, assume that the term “easement” means that particular part of their land is city property.

The easements are there for a purpose, but it is the homeowner’s responsibility to maintain them.

The City has released a pamphlet recently to inform the public about easements, what they are and what they are not. According to Jones, residents may say, “I have a puddle in my yard so fix it,” which is not a responsibility of the city per se but of the homeowner. “The easement does not necessarily mean that we have to come through there, but that we have a right to come through there.”

Therefore, if your swale clogs up and floods the yard, do not assume that because you did not put it there that you have no responsibility for fixing the damage. The city has no duty to come in there and repair any damage caused from lack of maintenance.

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MAINTAINING YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD RETENTION POND
Individual homeowners are not the only ones with responsibilities but the entire neighborhood as well. Retention ponds are considered privately-owned drainage systems and are thus the responsibility of those in the neighborhood. “The city owns the pipes, storm sewer pipe, but not the actual ponds themselves,” said Jones.

“The homeowners, as represented by the HOA, fully owns the retention ponds,” said Hittle. “Their maintenance is wholly the owners’ and HOA’s responsibility.”

Continual maintenance for a retention pond would include basic oxygenation and clearing of the area around the inlet. Fountains can mean bubblers or ones that shoot water up in the air, said Jones. The key is to keep the water moving and turning.

Jones suggests ensuring the HOA secures a quality aquatic management company to treat for algal blooms, installation of a fountain or bubbler to encourage the aquatic life of the pond and keep the outlet or control structure free from debris. By hiring Drain survey London services, a professional can assess the degree of blockages you’re dealing with. Visit sites like https://callgreenway.com for additional guidance.

The life span of a pond before it needs to be cleaned out, Johnson said, is approximately 10 to 12 years. Hittle said that in the long term, sediment will collect, making dredging necessary. Aesthetically speaking and on a more short-term basis, algal blooms will negatively affect the appearance of the pond.

It can be a common misconception that smaller animals, such as muskrats and beavers, can lead to major issues in retention ponds or surrounding land. “Muskrats can dig into pond banks and cause some bank destabilization, but we do not really see a problem with them,” said Jones. “Beavers, who build a dam here and there during certain times of the year, are usually over a tributary somewhere.”

However, those problems are fewer and farther between. Jones said, however, geese are the usual suspects when it comes to these problems. The amount of waste, as well as the e-coli that the waste produces, can cause major issues for the pond.

The costs for basic maintenance versus the cost of fixing a big problem can vary wildly, said Hittle. “Recently, a neighborhood had to spend $40,000 repairing a retention pond which had been neglected for decades,” he said. Relatively speaking, Hittle said, that is a modest repair cost.

Not staying on top of the pond’s maintenance could result in your HOA fees increasing due to costs of repairs as well as to cover any fines issued for code violations. More importantly, not staying on top of pond maintenance can almost guarantee a hit to your home value.

“Ponds, if lacking maintenance, can impact property values negatively,” said Hittle. “Eventually, the neglected pond will adversely impact subdivision drainage.”

To learn more about maintaining your drain, visit the Johnson County Indiana Partnership for Water Quality’s site at jccleanwater.org.

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