Waterlogged Arlington Residents Want Help From City
ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) - It wasn't the weather but a water main break that caused flooding in an Arlington neighborhood on Wednesday.
Homeowners say this isn't the first time they've had a problem with high water. Now they want the city to make things right.
"I mean, it looked just like a waterfall 'cause it was pouring over so fast…going down the driveway," recalled homeowner Bill Cash. "It was like a river. It wasn't good."
Cash didn't hesitate to grab a camera and record video of his flooded home. He says the tape is further evidence of continuing problems with a neighboring Pierce Burch Water Treatment Plant.
Cash claims Wednesday was at least the fifth time water gushed in from behind the house. And he claims it's the third time that flooding was the result of a broken pipe at the plant.
"I never would have thought, after the first time, it'd happen a second time. But here it is the third time," said Cash. "After a while, you start getting a little gun shy."
Arlington city officials told CBS 11 News they are only aware of two previous incidents – one this past February and one in August of 2010.
But Cash told CBS 11 the history goes back much further. He showed news crews a wall that he says the city built behind his garage, complete with drains, after flooding from the plant damaged the original wall.
Interim Arlington City Manager Bob Byrd said the city has made drainage improvements at the plant and plan to compensate those affected by Wednesday's flood.
"[We are] trying to make people who are displaced as comfortable as possible," Byrd said in a telephone interview. "We're looking at options to make sure we can properly remedy the situation."
But the Cash family, and others in the area, say they're fed up waiting for the city and want officials to approve purchasing their property, so they can 'move on'.
The request isn't far fetched. The City of Arlington bought and demolished a number of flooded homes after Hurricane Hermine passed through in September of 2010.
Byrd told CBS 11 all options are on the table and he will present them to the mayor and city council.
