Oak Orchard Residents Push For Drainage Enhancements After Storm - WMDT 47 News - Delmarva's Choice

OAK ORCHARD, Del. - Oak Orchard residents continue to deal with the aftermath of storms that flooded the area back in August.

"We had about maybe 6 inches deep in our apartment. Our floors, after all the water went down, they had buckled, and yes, mold's a problem," resident Karen Coleman said. "My woman and I are seriously thinking about moving," resident Karl Johnson said.

A boat ramp, right at the lowest point in the community was completely destroyed, and now some residents are pushing to close off the entire area. Mark Dunn has already spent $3,500 on repairs. "As far as this ramp goes, it's been absolutely a nuisance. I'd like to have permission to close this off, back fill it in, put a drain line in here and everyone in the whole neighborhood would be very very pleased and happy," he said.

Dunn says he's willing to pay to out of pocket, but officials tell us it's public property. "Since they're not owners of that, DNREC is hesitant to issue a permit to install bulkheads for an area they do not own," president of the Indian River Volunteer Fire Company, Patrick Miller said.

Residents tell WMDT flooding has been an issue for years, and they're hoping officials will recognize something needs to be done, before the next storm hits. Community leaders say they're working to make drainage enhancements, but plans are in the early stages. "We have reviewed some of our historical files and submitted those to DNREC and DelDot. But, they will be a number of months or years before that materializes," Miller said.

Tuesday night, elected officials are expected to tour the area and assess the damage.