Man blames county for flooding problem

By Kirsten McIntyre, NEWS 9 

A Lincoln County man said when it rains, it pours at his home. At times, the rain will create a flooding fiasco.

He blames the county for creating his water woes.

Joe Morse sent NEWS 9 a video in hopes we could help him. He shot it just a few weeks ago after a recent heavy rain. Morse told NEWS 9 he'd contacted the county, but with little luck.

But, the county tells a different story.

"As you can see, it's bubbling over," Morse said. "Every time we flush the toilet, it's going to go out."

Joe Morse is frustrated. His septic tank is backed up, his driveway has holes and his front yard is a mud pit.

"There's nothing else to do," Morse said. "I don't know what to do, it's a mess."

Morse says a trench the county built to get water off the road is what's caused his flooding problems. Morse shot his video after a recent rain.

"They opened it up on the property next to me and now what it does, it floods my property," Morse said. "And then, it's backing up my septic and flooding the neighbor's property."

"The water was going across the road and leaving about a foot deep wash, every time it washed," Lincoln County Road Supervisor, Brian Stevens said. "I would rather see somebody get flooded a little bit than you or somebody having a wreck cause it was bad."

Brian Stevens says he had no option but to dig this trench. He says landowners have filled in nearby ditches leaving no place for the water to go. He also thought he and Morse had worked their differences.

"They were going to buy a pipe and we was going to do the ditch work and put it in and I guess they decided to call ya'll," Stevens said.

After NEWS 9 got involved, both men spent some more time looking at the problem and finding a solution. Morse will buy a pipe for his driveway and allow the county to dig a ditch along his property.

"It will drain and stay off the road and everything will be fine," Stevens said.

Joe Morse is looking forward to getting the problem fixed and has been dealing with this for several months now. Morse says he should be able to afford the supplies needed for his driveway within the next 60 days. After that, the county says it will do the work at no cost to Joe.