Runyon Lake residents seek solution to 20-year-old drainage problem

Sitting water that attracts mosquitos, constantly wet grass and silty ponds are just some of the issues some Center Grove area residents say they are experiencing.

But finding a solution hasn’t been easy, as two subdivisions disagree over who is responsible for fixing it.

Residents in the Runyon Lake subdivision are experiencing drainage issues because of a pipe or pipes that carry water through the area. Residents point to nearby neighborhoods as the culprit and reason for their problems, and Johnson County officials say finding who owns and should be maintaining the infrastructure has been difficult. Because the issues are happening on private property, the county can’t fix the issues directly, said Ron West, county commissioner.

About the problem

Residents are asking for relief from the ongoing issue. At least one of the pipes that dump water on the neighborhood can be seen at the corner of Runyon Lake Drive and South Runyon Road in White River Township. It is unclear whether the drainage system is one pipe or multiple pipes.

“This is continuous,” resident Susan Boothe said. “I was helping some of the neighbors that needed help mowing and things. I walked back in their yard and I am like, ‘Oh my gosh.’… There’s cattails. It’s never dry. You can never mow and they’ve been dumping water on us for 20-plus years — 25 years. It’s [also] the stench. When it gets hot and humid, you can walk on that side of the street and take a nice smell. That’s what we smell 24/7.”

Another resident, Joe Brewington, said his private lake has silt and a clogged drain because of the drainage issues.

“They have been, for years and years and years, they have been running all this crap through my yard,” Brewington said. “… Everybody keeps telling me, ‘It’s your yard, it’s your problem.’ Okay, I want the pipe out of my yard or I’m gonna plug it up.”

Residents say the lake was once full of water and fish, but the water supply has decreased. Whereas, the lake used to be big enough to float a boat, now when there’s a lack of rain, the lake is so low ducks can walk across it, residents say.

“So I take everything that White River Township and Old Smith Valley wants to put through my yard,” Brewington said. “There’s no way anybody can tell me that this is right.”

Residents argue nearby developments are pushing water and silt through the pipe or pipes. Boothe alleges that Turfway Park and Brentwood’s retention ponds have drained over onto the Runyon Lake subdivision.

Boothe said she has tried contacting various county departments, who she said either told her it’s not in their jurisdiction or don’t respond. She said other neighbors have tried contacting neighboring homeowner’s associations.

Boothe and resident Jerri Hornaday say everyone is pointing a finger at everyone else and nothing is getting done.

Pipe maintenance

West said it has been difficult to locate documentation dictating who should maintain the pipe or pipes. Through conversations he’s had with the Turfway Park and Brentwood HOAs, no one has taken responsibility for maintaining the infrastructure.

Both HOAs told the Daily Journal that the other should be maintaining the pipe or pipes, both citing documentation to prove their lack of ownership.

In a letter sent to the Daily Journal, Don McInnes, an attorney representing Turfway Park, cited Section 4.1 of the Declaration of Covenants for Brentwood as the reason why Brentwood is responsible. The section states the Brentwood HOA has a permanent easement on all lake areas and common areas that may be necessary for the lake areas to properly function and provide intended stormwater retention and drainage benefits to Brentwood.

McInnes said that because the easement area exists to serve Brentwood residents, Brentwood HOA should be responsible for maintaining the drainage easement area.

Turfway Park HOA President Richard Weis also showed the Daily Journal a map that outlines what part of the system is Turfway Park’s responsibility and what part is Brentwood’s responsibility. According to that map, outlined by McInnes, drainage coming from Brentwood ties into drainage that serves Turfway Park, including at the corner of Runyon Lake Drive and South Runyon Road across from the old fire station.

However, Brentwood HOA President Justen Cardinale believes Turfway should be maintaining the pipe or pipes and cited an amendment to Section 7.2(a) Maintenance of Storm Drainage System from the Declaration of Covenants of Turfway Park. The section states the Turfway HOA is responsible for the maintenance storm drainage system for Turfway including detention ponds and off-site storm drainage across Runyon Subdivision Lots 9-20 and 46-55.

Although Turfway Park’s HOA says they own parts of the drainage pipe or pipes deeper into the subdivision, Weis said they clean and maintain them. Cardinale said Brentwood also has maintenance procedures for their ponds and drainage, which he said is on their property.

Solutions elusive

Although West said he is sympathetic, he said the county can’t do any work on private property.

“We’ve got this in a number of spots around and every county’s got it, and it’s a shame,” West said. “The county can’t do anything, we can’t go on private property, we’re just restricted, obviously, and we don’t have a funding source to do it anyway.”

However, he isn’t leaving that as his final answer for residents. Instead, he has been working with the Brentwood and Turfway Park HOAs, the county health department and the state legislature to figure out a solution to the issues.

West is searching for any documentation that states who should be maintaining the pipe or pipes. Secondly, he is trying to find any platted information from when the Runyon Lake subdivision was built that would define the drainage utility easement. This would allow the homeowners to remove any obstruction within the easement.

Alongside finding who should be maintaining the infrastructure, West said he is talking to state legislators about resurrecting House Bill 1155 from six years ago, which allowed the county to contract with an HOA and come on private property, make certain repairs and recover the money from the spring property tax. The county would amortize it over a period of 15 to 20 years so it would minimize the amount residents have to pay annually. The HOA would have to be mandatory for the law to work, he said.

The bill was previously approved for three years and the law has already sunset.

Funding is also a problem when dealing with the drainage issues, West said. The county may be able to use funding through Health First Indiana to correct the drainage issue because it presents a health concern due to the presence of standing water. He said the water in the area was tested and shows some bacterial infestation.

“So it’s really like four different areas I’m working in simultaneously here to try to get this thing done,” West said. “I just feel bad for the residents in these older neighborhoods. … My goal is to help these people but to do it in a way that has sustainability.”

In the meantime, residents are left waiting and the water continues to flow.

“It’s just so frustrating because this used to be a really nice, quiet little neighborhood and then they started building the additions,” Boothe said. “Traffic’s gotten worse and it’s like they’re building all around us and dumping water, but they don’t do anything to fix the problems.”