PETERSBURG, Va. -- A Petersburg woman is turning to the CBS 6 Problem Solvers for help after she said frequent flooding is causing numerous problems in her neighborhood.
The woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, she North Plains Drive off of Crater Road looks more like a lake than a street when it rains.
“It’s getting to be ridiculous,” she told WTVR CBS 6 reporter Sandra Jones. “Every time it pours down, you have to wait until it go down or people can’t get through neither side -- North Plains or South Plains."
Photo shows flooding along the street.
Photos show the street covered in water and a garbage can apparently toppled because of the rising waters. And when the water recedes, she said that trash ends up on her property.
“Once it goes down, then I have to deal with getting up the mud, the dirt, the trash," she said. “If I drive through with my car, the water get inside my car, because it’s real deep."
Overgrown vegetation and debris were spotted in the drainage ditch next to her home, which she said flows into a nearby creek.
Debris left behind by flooding.
The woman, who complained to Petersburg’s Department of Public Works, said crews did come out to clear the ditch.
But she is worried about mosquitoes and trash that is constantly plaguing her neighborhood because of the high water.
“I have to pick up trash. I have to shovel dirt," she said. “It rains and it brings it down here and I end up cleaning up everything.”
She told Jones she's frustrated and wanted a resolution.
“I don’t want nobody to get hurt, because kids come through on buses. Some of them walk home and they got to come through other people’s yards to get home," the homeowner said.
According to city code, while the drainage ditch belongs to the city, it is up to the homeowner to cut the grass and vegetation around it as well as keep the drainage ditch clean. The homeowner has 48 hours to correct the violation or face a fine.
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