A Chatham resident is up to his knees with flooding problems in his residential community.
Todd Cadotte is a resident and member of the tenants association at St. Clair Community Estates on Dunkirk Dr. in Chatham. He says the community experiences flooding every year, but this year has been especially worse.
Flooding in St. Clair Community Estates. February 20, 2018. Photo by Sarah Cowan Blackburn News Chatham-Kent).
"We have one drain that runs to the municipal drain and when it get overloaded a little bit, we end up getting flooded out here," says Cadotte. "There's just multiple problems with the drainage in here and we've been trying to get it fixed now for a long time but the park owner doesn't seem to want to put any money into this park and we as tenants suffer the consequences."
Cadotte says the property owner lives in the states and does not take the residents' concerns seriously. He says many residents can barely leave their homes and drive anywhere.
"Several got stuck in the water there, their engines got flooded with water, and they had to be towed out or other people have come and pushed them out to try and get them out of the middle of the roadway. When you have a foot of water on the road, it's not good," he explains.
Director of Drainage, Asset and Waste Management Tim Dick told BlackburnNewsCK.com that the municipality does not maintain the sewer and snow removal for the community because it is private property. He says it is up to the property owner to deal with the community's drainage issues.
Cadotte says if the municipality can't help, he is going to have to take the issue to the member of parliament and the tribunal. He says the residents are tenants of leased land that pay lot rent and taxes.
Flooding in St. Clair Community Estates. February 20, 2018. Photo by Sarah Cowan Blackburn News Chatham-Kent).
"Their property values go to the toilet. If they ever want to sell the place, people know what the park is like. You're never going to be able to sell it," says Cadotte. "Right now we're getting water skirting off of mobile homes and insulation washing out from underneath them. Who's going to pay for all of that? Your insurance doesn't cover that, I don't think."
Cadotte says many of the residents living at St. Clair Community Estates are middle-aged, retired, or seniors living on fixed incomes. He says they cannot afford to spend that kind of money to fix a problem that should not be happening in the first place.
He is hoping residents will be able to get some money for damages from the government.
BlackburnNewsCK.com has reached out to the property owner and is awaiting a response.