Efforts to keep Northwest Indiana homes from being flooded upsets nearby farmers
LAPORTE COUNTY, Indiana (CBS) – Getting dumped on – that's how farmers in LaPorte County, Indiana feel about a newly-installed pipe that drains other people's water into a pristine creek.
Morning Insider Lauren Victory followed the flow to discover what prompted the project.
The sound of water haunted Kevin Raymond's dreams for 15 years. His northwest Indiana basement flooded several times.
"We'd take turns running sump pumps and shop vacs and drying fans," Raymond said.
Neighbors sent CBS 2 video of their sad and sloppy messes too. It turned out a fluctuating water table is underneath their subdivision.
Homeowners were constantly trying to keep the water at bay. Heavy rain could cause thousands of dollars in damage.
"It was so much pressure from the water pushing up that it actually cracked the floor of our basements and came up from underground," Raymond said.
The problem became too much to handle privately so LaPorte County got involved.
A just-completed drainage project gives groundwater that's been leaching into homes, a new home in Kingsbury Creek. The solution is upsetting to homeowners with property bordering the natural waterway.
"They're taking their problem and running and dumping it down on us," said Harold Barr, a farmer.
Barr added the creek already has issues. Some years, it overflows, reducing the amount of farmable land here and downstream.
"With this, if it's a wet year, with this water coming into there, the extra water will probably be a big problem," Barr said.
He's concerned that could open up the county to lawsuits despite those objections, the pipe was installed.
"It seems like we have no recourse," Barr said.
Barr's biggest request now: regular testing of what's flowing into Kingsbury Creek.
"Make sure there's no chemicals or impurities," he said. "E coli and the nitrates."
Raymond added, "It's clear, artesian, underground water that's been filtered. I wouldn't be scared to drink it."
He was willing to stand by that statement, anything to show his support for the county project that's kept his home dry.
The county told CBS 2 the volume of water draining into the creek is being overblown by opponents. The farmers said they'll believe it when they see it, and are taking a wait-and-see attitude.
