Man says recent storms highlight ongoing flooding issue at his Charlotte home
A south Charlotte man showed Channel 9 how his home had flooded after a strong round of storms Thursday night.
“The water is backed up on the road,” said Damon Cochran.
The storms brought two inches of rain down. Cochran sent video of the flooding to Channel 9. He said it has become a common problem at his home. He’s lived there for 20 years but says the flooding started just a few months ago.
“$4,000 worth of sod down the drain, pretty frustrating,” Cochran said.
ALSO READ: ‘It’s a nightmare’: Woman left searching for answers after raw sewage floods her home
He believes the problem stems from two nearby drains, where Channel 9′s Anthony Kustura could still see mud Friday from the rain. When the water going down the drains gets too high, it runs right onto Cochran’s property.
After another recent storm, Cochran also recorded video of water seeping into his garage. Cochran says he called the city and asked crews to at least look at the drains to figure out what’s going on. He said they gave him a work order, but the city closed it with no resolution.
Cochran now has bags of mulch in front of his garage to keep the water out, but knows it’s only a temporary fix. He says he also spent $1,500 to add more drains to his own property to keep the water levels down. But even that’s useless when mud, trash and other debris block them.
ALSO READ: Strong pop-up storms cause 14K power outages, downed trees in Mecklenburg County
“I don’t know what kind of drainage system you’re supposed to put in that takes on the excess water from the City of Charlotte,” Cochran told Kustura.
Despite the money he’s spent on this problem, he says his biggest concern is his health since he doesn’t know what’s in the water.
“I don’t see how it could possibly be healthy, backing up, and it comes into my house,” he said.
And now, he just wants answers.
Channel 9 has asked the city why it closed the work order and if it’s aware of the flooding problem. We have not yet heard back.
(WATCH BELOW: Campers pack up and leave as storms loom in forecast)
