Flood-prone Lillian neighborhood gets relief after years of trying
LILLIAN, Ala. (WKRG) — Flood waters have plagued and damaged homes along Faircloth Road near Lillian for years. News 5 began reporting on the problem in October of 2021. Now, a four-month project is underway that homeowners believe will be the relief they have been searching for.
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“This will fix it,” says homeowner John Petrick. “I’m 100 percent confident this is going to fix it.”
A happy camper: that’s how Petrick describes himself now that a $1.5 million project is underway that will prevent his property from being flooded.
“It was six months of water. That is when we had the alligator,” he recalls.
The 1,200-acre area off Faircloth Road near Lillian is a naturally formed basin that collects storm water, and there was no outlet.
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Now, a mile-long ditch will funnel water from hurricanes and heavy rains all the way to the Blackwater River.
“They had to get the approval from school board property and Forever Wild had to get all their ducks in a row and it took a while but it finally got done,” says Petrick.
The last time we saw Fred Land he was riding a lawnmower through floodwaters that had surrounded his house.
“At one time I had 14 inches, up on the legs of my piano, in my living room.”
He believes the ditch, that runs in front of his property, will do the trick.
“With that ditch, it’s not going to be a problem anymore,” he said.
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Culverts still have to be placed, utility lines moved but after years of dreading every dark cloud, there is now a silver lining.
“Now I can retire,” says Petrick. “I don’t have to have a row boat to get to my house.”
Because periodic flooding had impacted the septic system in the area, the county applied for and received a $1.5 million grant from the American Rescue Plan Act to pay for the improvement project.
Work is expected to be finished in April.
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