INDIANAPOLIS — RTV6 took a look at the root of a hassle that is frustrating homeowners in a west side Indianapolis neighborhood. And it's a costly one.
The neighbors say that every time it rains their yards flood. They claim that the drainage issues began when a new storage facility moved in next to their home. The unit moved right up against the backyards of their homes. The elevation is about six feet higher, so every time it rains it flows directly into their yards.
"It's pretty deep. It covers my feet… And you can't walk in it," Vicki McClain, a west side neighbor said while standing in mud. "Literally, like, I am stuck right now."
Neighbors who live off of West Washington Street struggle to even mow their lawn. McClain says the Marion County Health Department has already been out to treat her yard for mosquitoes.
What's worse is her trees are beginning to rot and fall over.
All caused - the neighbors believe - when the new self-storage facility was built right next to their homes.
"We've been here for about 35 years. It's never done this," Donna Alvey, another west side neighbor, said.
McClain's reached out to several different city and county departments. But just like the water, they're at a standstill.
The Department of Public Works said they'd been out to investigate. No infrastructure is contributing to the flooding and says it seems like the issue is coming from the storage complex.
However, DPW doesn't get involved in issues between private property owners.
But, they have studied the area that's in the public-right-of-way for a possible long-term drainage improvement project in the future.
The storage complex company did not return RTV6 calls today.
