Eight Denton Creek residents dealing with sinking backyards
c o p p e l l s t u d e n t m e d i a . c o m Volume 27 | Issue 5 | April 2016
Eight Denton Creek residents dealing with sinking backyards written by Meara Isenberg Entertainment Editor @mearaannee Since last April, eight Denton Creek residents have been living a scene from a disaster movie. The self proclaimed DC Eight have seen their properties suffer with each passing storm, and with little progress made to stop it, can do nothing but watch their backyards slowly erode away. “When it rains I can’t sleep very well but when loud claps of thunder happen I literally jump out of bed because I’m thinking, ‘our pool just fell in the creek,’” Parker Drive resident Shannon Scott said. Scott started noticing the erosion last spring,
when record-setting rain was recorded in Texas. Since then, she has lost nearly half of her backyard. “Everything shifted down and slid and it’s horrible,” Scott said. “It’s so bad, look at their yards. Big chunks of their yards are gone.” Although much of it is now a tangle of mud, rubble and dead roots, Scott still remembers what her backyard used to look like. “[The path] was attached, we could walk out and go down there and go fishing,” Scott said. “We have a little boat, a flat bottom boat and now, it’s just too dangerous. My husband used to mow around that tree. There was grass and it was a lot higher.” > Continued on page 12
INSIDE Substance Abuse
Prep for ‘Prepper’
Clark’s 300th win
Read about how one staffer overcame her father’s addiction PAGE 8
Read about Patterson’s new film, coming to theaters on July 3 PAGE 16
Read about Clark reaching a coaching career milestone PAGE 21
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13
Flooding shakes Denton Creek community Citizens brace for storms, watch backyards wash away > from page 1 A few houses down, fellow resident Jitu Nagale is also among those feeling the weight of each storm. His back door has been barricaded with sandbags since last June and he has no plan to move them. “I have two kids in middle school,” Nagale said. “I can’t take them outside, there’s no way. It’s always closed.” Slope failure, which occurs as the soil underneath falls out due to rising water levels, has not only washed away many feet of yard, but has also brought up other issues for Nagale. “I had foundation problems, I don’t know whether they are caused by this but I suspect it’s related to this,” Nagale said. “We spent some money to get it fixed, I’m not sure it’s going to hold though. Almost all of the houses have had foundation issues here.” Nagale attributes the slope failure that has escalated over the past months not only to rainfall, but to water let out of Grapevine Lake. “Last year [the Corps of Engineers] sent a notice that they were going to release water from [Grapevine Lake],” Nagale said. “That’s what is affecting it. Otherwise, it’s just a natural creek, the water level will go up a little bit and go down a little bit. They keep releasing the water, and it’s a lot.” The Denton Creek homeowners have attempted to get help from the city, but a significant issue has slowed their progress. “We have been in discussion with the city but they are saying that they can’t really help us out because it is a private property,” Nagale said. The residents reached out to a contractor to assess the damages but also hit a wall. “It is very frustrating going back and forth with the city,” Scott said. “We had a contractor come out, they’ve done a lot of work on Denton Creek. Their proposal quote is over a million dollars and it’s all of us
eight houses, a few of them are retired, there’s no way any of us can afford that.” As time has passed and there is still no solution in sight, Nagale can only hope his yard survives the rainy season. “There’s nothing [I can do],” Nagale said. “There are a lot of federal funds available, but then everything has to go through the city. Next time when it collapses, that other guy over there, his backyard will be washed out. Slowly all this will be washed out if nothing is done over here.” Besides clearing debris from the waterway, City of Coppell Community Information Officer Sharon Logan says that when it comes to the erosion, the city has its hands tied. “There’s really not much we can do as a city,” Logan said. “It’s private property, it’s illegal according to state constitution for a public entity such as the city to pay for private property. We’re in a situation where legally, we can’t do anything for the homeowners.” However, the city does have a possible course of action in mind to address this issue, which involves direct communication between engineers. “What we want to do is bring the homeowners in with our engineering department and get everything we can out on the table, their information and our information, so hopefully maybe we can help them with what needs to be done,” Logan said. The DC 8 have a facebook page called “Denton Creek Homeowners” where they post updates.
17 inches
17 inches of rain fell in May 2015, the third-highest monthly total in the 116 years records have been kept.
9 feet
For the first time in years, the two floodgates at Lake Grapevine opened on May 13, 2015. at the time it was 9 feet above conservation level.
15.8 feet
As of May 22, 2015, Lake Grapevine water levels were 15.8 feet above capacity.
1854 cubic feet per second
As of April 11, the Corps of Engineers are currently releasing 1854 cubic feet per second of water and the current elevation is 539.33 feet. Information from dallasnews.com
photos by Mallorie
Munoz
Homes in Coppell along Denton Creek experience flooding and erosion in their backyard due to excessive rainfall. Residents have reported losing up to eight feet of their yard to the creek.
Scan for the City of Coppell’s website with more information about their communication with homeowners.
TIMELINE OF DENTON CREEK EROSION ISSUE
MAY 29, 2015
FEMA issues Disaster Declaration Texas Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding.
JUNE 2015
City staff was first contacted about erosion on private property along Denton Creek by residents on Parker Drive.
NOVEMBER 2015
arker Drive homeowners appear before City Council during the P Citizen’s Appearance portion of the meeting to request the City to fund improvements on private property.
DECEMBER 2015
The City’s long standing policy is that maintenance and improvements on private property are the responsibility of the owner of the private property. Texas Constitution prohibits the City from using public funds to make repairs or improvements on private property.
MARCH/APRIL 2016
Council to consider a contract for a detailed study and development of alternatives to address drainage along Denton Creek from SH121 to the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. Information from coppelltx.gov
Eight Denton Creek residents dealing with sinking backyards written by Meara Isenberg Entertainment Editor @mearaannee Since last April, eight Denton Creek residents have been living a scene from a disaster movie. The self proclaimed DC Eight have seen their properties suffer with each passing storm, and with little progress made to stop it, can do nothing but watch their backyards slowly erode away. “When it rains I can’t sleep very well but when loud claps of thunder happen I literally jump out of bed because I’m thinking, ‘our pool just fell in the creek,’” Parker Drive resident Shannon Scott said. Scott started noticing the erosion last spring,
when record-setting rain was recorded in Texas. Since then, she has lost nearly half of her backyard. “Everything shifted down and slid and it’s horrible,” Scott said. “It’s so bad, look at their yards. Big chunks of their yards are gone.” Although much of it is now a tangle of mud, rubble and dead roots, Scott still remembers what her backyard used to look like. “[The path] was attached, we could walk out and go down there and go fishing,” Scott said. “We have a little boat, a flat bottom boat and now, it’s just too dangerous. My husband used to mow around that tree. There was grass and it was a lot higher.” > Continued on page 12
INSIDE Substance Abuse
Prep for ‘Prepper’
Clark’s 300th win
Read about how one staffer overcame her father’s addiction PAGE 8
Read about Patterson’s new film, coming to theaters on July 3 PAGE 16
Read about Clark reaching a coaching career milestone PAGE 21
12
13
Flooding shakes Denton Creek community Citizens brace for storms, watch backyards wash away > from page 1 A few houses down, fellow resident Jitu Nagale is also among those feeling the weight of each storm. His back door has been barricaded with sandbags since last June and he has no plan to move them. “I have two kids in middle school,” Nagale said. “I can’t take them outside, there’s no way. It’s always closed.” Slope failure, which occurs as the soil underneath falls out due to rising water levels, has not only washed away many feet of yard, but has also brought up other issues for Nagale. “I had foundation problems, I don’t know whether they are caused by this but I suspect it’s related to this,” Nagale said. “We spent some money to get it fixed, I’m not sure it’s going to hold though. Almost all of the houses have had foundation issues here.” Nagale attributes the slope failure that has escalated over the past months not only to rainfall, but to water let out of Grapevine Lake. “Last year [the Corps of Engineers] sent a notice that they were going to release water from [Grapevine Lake],” Nagale said. “That’s what is affecting it. Otherwise, it’s just a natural creek, the water level will go up a little bit and go down a little bit. They keep releasing the water, and it’s a lot.” The Denton Creek homeowners have attempted to get help from the city, but a significant issue has slowed their progress. “We have been in discussion with the city but they are saying that they can’t really help us out because it is a private property,” Nagale said. The residents reached out to a contractor to assess the damages but also hit a wall. “It is very frustrating going back and forth with the city,” Scott said. “We had a contractor come out, they’ve done a lot of work on Denton Creek. Their proposal quote is over a million dollars and it’s all of us
eight houses, a few of them are retired, there’s no way any of us can afford that.” As time has passed and there is still no solution in sight, Nagale can only hope his yard survives the rainy season. “There’s nothing [I can do],” Nagale said. “There are a lot of federal funds available, but then everything has to go through the city. Next time when it collapses, that other guy over there, his backyard will be washed out. Slowly all this will be washed out if nothing is done over here.” Besides clearing debris from the waterway, City of Coppell Community Information Officer Sharon Logan says that when it comes to the erosion, the city has its hands tied. “There’s really not much we can do as a city,” Logan said. “It’s private property, it’s illegal according to state constitution for a public entity such as the city to pay for private property. We’re in a situation where legally, we can’t do anything for the homeowners.” However, the city does have a possible course of action in mind to address this issue, which involves direct communication between engineers. “What we want to do is bring the homeowners in with our engineering department and get everything we can out on the table, their information and our information, so hopefully maybe we can help them with what needs to be done,” Logan said. The DC 8 have a facebook page called “Denton Creek Homeowners” where they post updates.
17 inches
17 inches of rain fell in May 2015, the third-highest monthly total in the 116 years records have been kept.
9 feet
For the first time in years, the two floodgates at Lake Grapevine opened on May 13, 2015. at the time it was 9 feet above conservation level.
15.8 feet
As of May 22, 2015, Lake Grapevine water levels were 15.8 feet above capacity.
1854 cubic feet per second
As of April 11, the Corps of Engineers are currently releasing 1854 cubic feet per second of water and the current elevation is 539.33 feet. Information from dallasnews.com
photos by Mallorie
Munoz
Homes in Coppell along Denton Creek experience flooding and erosion in their backyard due to excessive rainfall. Residents have reported losing up to eight feet of their yard to the creek.
Scan for the City of Coppell’s website with more information about their communication with homeowners.
TIMELINE OF DENTON CREEK EROSION ISSUE
MAY 29, 2015
FEMA issues Disaster Declaration Texas Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding.
JUNE 2015
City staff was first contacted about erosion on private property along Denton Creek by residents on Parker Drive.
NOVEMBER 2015
arker Drive homeowners appear before City Council during the P Citizen’s Appearance portion of the meeting to request the City to fund improvements on private property.
DECEMBER 2015
The City’s long standing policy is that maintenance and improvements on private property are the responsibility of the owner of the private property. Texas Constitution prohibits the City from using public funds to make repairs or improvements on private property.
MARCH/APRIL 2016
Council to consider a contract for a detailed study and development of alternatives to address drainage along Denton Creek from SH121 to the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. Information from coppelltx.gov
