The City of Foley will be footing the bill to dig a drainage ditch which will eliminate problems for residents near Cypress Pond Circle in Foley and also pave the way for possible future development of nearby property into a new subdivision.

City Engineer Butch Stokes feels the drainage project will be a great benefit to the city and many residents who have been plagued for years with drainage issues every time it rains.  Because the city was unsuccessful in attempts to acquire a permit to fix the drainage problem, the problem was never addressed.

The city was recently given an opportunity to improve the drainage in the area because a developer who owns the land where the current ditch is located also holds a permit from the Corps of Engineers to dig a new ditch. The developer planned to place a subdivision on the property, which would require a new ditch to be put in place. However, because of the economy, the developer has not moved forward to begin developing the property.

Before the developer’s permit expires, the city hopes to be able to go in and dig a new ditch, which Stokes hopes will alleviate some of the drainage problems.

“We have worked out an agreement, sort of, with one of the developers of this property because they currently have a permit with the Corps of Engineers to do what we are talking about doing. The developer would have had to do this work in order to develop that subdivision…” said Stokes.

The area has always been a tricky place to drain because there are wetland areas, according to Stokes.

    The developer had plans to construct the new ditch himself when he was still planning to develop the property. The proposed new ditch will run along the perimeter of the property instead of through it, according to Stokes. The ditch currently in place is not capable of handling the large amounts of water that accumulate during a heavy rain. Stokes said the city plans to dig a ditch similar to the one the developer had planned, beginning behind the Cypress Pond cul-de-sac, along the perimeter to Juniper Street, along Juniper Street and eventually connecting to the existing ditch at Pride Drive.

“That is what we agreed to do on the basis that he let us come in and build the ditch. He is not doing anything with the subdivision because there is no demand for it right now. The way the subdivision regulations read, unless there is substantial work done on the subdivision during that two year period at the end of two years the subdivision is no longer approved,” said Stokes.

    In other words, the clock is ticking because the approval on the property will run out this summer.

    According to Stokes, digging the ditch before the time runs out will benefit the developer and the city.

    “It behooves him if he can get work done. It helps us because we have had some issues with drainage in that area,” said Stokes.

Despite the work planned for the area, Stokes doesn’t think the drainage problem will completely dissipate. He said the water will still accumulate in some areas, but he hopes the ditch will keep the water away from the houses.

“What we are going to do will not fix all of the drainage problems,” he said. “Water just builds up and there is nowhere for it to go. It gets a lot of water. Our hope is that by putting this ditch in and getting it some positive drainage that we are not going to be able to stop the water from rising but we hope we are going to be able to control the level of it so it is not getting up in the houses.”

“By no stretch of the imagination is it going to fix it and make it where we never have water in the streets. We think we are going to be able to provide some benefit, but by no means is it an absolute fix.”

Stokes also said the plan is for the city to do the work because all the city will have to pay for is the materials if city manpower and equipment are used. He hopes to get the project started soon and completed by May.

“We need to have it in place before the Corps permit runs out, that is the key,” said Stokes. “Once that permit runs out we are kind of out of luck.”

Stokes has also had to raise the price from less than $10,000 when he first approached the council about the project to between $30,000 and $35,000. He said the increase from his original estimate was brought about because the property owner has requested extra pipes so entrances to the property can go over the ditch.

“The price of the pipe threw a curve in it,” said Stokes. “It is still a lot of bang for that buck when you consider how much this drainage project will do.”