Storm drain and sewer easement creates wet ground/ dead grass (trees, front yard)

[amberamour]

Between our neighbors and us lies a 25-footiwide sewer easement and storm drain that slopes inward in the middle to help rainwater flow into a catch basin at the lowest part.

In this section of ground there is nothing but compacted soil, weeds and dead grass that floods whenever it rains. You need rain boots to navigate it. When it's not wet it's crunchy and full of weeds.

Neither our neighbor nor we have a real need to do anything in this common area since we can't plant or fence it but I am wondering if something should be done to handle the stagnant water and eliminate the dead grass by installing a system to drain water or to just place a line of rocks there.

We do have a HOA here.

Do you have any suggestions?

[cittic10]

How much water are we talking about 24 hours after the rain stops?
It sounds like it's not sloped adequately or something is clogged up in the catch basin.

[Bulldogdad]

^^^^This.

Pictures please.

[North Beach Person]

When you say easement do you mean that your neighbor or you owns the property where the drain is located, or that it's a right of way owned by the HOA or local government?

[amberamour]

Originally Posted by North Beach Person

When you say easement do you mean that your neighbor or you owns the property where the drain is located, or that it's a right of way owned by the HOA or local government?

Yes, it is a city owned easement servicing our subdivision.

I tried uploading pix but the files were too large, so I have to resize them before trying again. My camera setting has to be adjusted.

It's been raining here all day and I'm afraid to go out there and see the water. And there's a 90% chance of rain again tomorrow.

My issue with this area is mainly appearance since neither my neighbor nor myself can plant or fence it. We can't keep grass alive that receives so much water. I see many culvert type drainage ditches here along the roads to handle rainwater and think we need something like that too.

Even though the ground is fairly compacted, I would say that the water does drain quickly enough to not be a safety hazard so that's not too critical. There is a catch basin close by. It's more of an aesthetics issue for me. Without healthy grass, the area is highly prone to weeds and is a nuisance to try walking through such a soggy area if I am doing yard work after a rain.

[cittic10]

If it's backing up, you should report it to the department that maintains it.
If all you're concerned about is how it looks, why not just plant some bushes in front to screen the view of it? I'd be planting all kinds of trees and stuff.

[amberamour]

Well, no backing up that I can see. The catch basin seems to work well.

Rather, it's a flat area low on the slope close to the catch basin that has stagnant water when it rains or we use our sprinklers. Kind of the lowest part of the ditch.

We can't plant anything because the city forbids anything being put in the 25-foot-wide easement leading to the sewer manholes in the woods behind our subdivision.

Just a couple weeks ago they brought a bush hog in here and cleared a huge swath of saplings and other overgrowth that had been blocking the path to the manholes. While they were here doing that I talked with the supervisor in charge and he said nothing can be planted in this easement or right of way in case of an emergency when they would need to get trucks or large equipment in to handle the situation.

Although I was very disappointed it's not an unacceptable proposition. We want them to have easy access to fix any sewer backups that may happen over time. (This SD is only 6 years old.) I am planning to fence our front yard to create my main garden there instead of the side yard where this easement is.

[cittic10]

They do the same thing here. I'm not saying you should plant your screen in the easement. Plant it outside the easement. You don't have to pour a ton of money into it. Just get some 3 gallon sizes and 2 years from know you'll have forgotten all about it.