DE resident claims National Guard the reason for flooding; Guard says they’re ‘not responsible’
DAGSBORO, Del – It’s a sight Dagsboro resident Richard Militun has to deal with in his backyard every single time it rains. “We love the yard we love the property but right now we can’t enjoy it like we used to or want to,” said resident Richard Militun.
Milutin says he’s been dealing with this type of flooding for years, and says his neighbor, The Delaware National Guard, is responsible.
“They built up their land drastically, their roof slants toward our property. I’d go over, ask them to have somebody contact me because we’re having a flooding issue, I explained even to these guys that all we needed was a ditch, a wall, something to keep the water from coming to this property,” said Militun.
But officials with the National Guard say their runoff is not the reason behind the flooding.
“There haven’t been any changes to the elevation or the slope angels on those properties. We for decades have made sure that we do not make any changes in the elevation on our properties that would affect the water flow, the culverts, the drainage and everything like that,” said State Public Affairs Officer for the Delaware National Guard Bernie Kale.
Despite what officials say, Militun tells us he will continue to voice his concerns in hopes of enjoying the yard he loved once again.
“We can’t grow stuff, we like to grow our vegetables, our fruits, and just be able to use our yard,” said Militun.
And although they don’t believe they’re responsible, the guard says they are willing to help Militon in anyway they can.
“We reach out to our neighbors including Mr. Milutin to find out what we can do to assist and if it’s not on our properties we can provide council and some advice on some changes that could be made on his property,” said Kale.
Kale says that the guard has visited Militun’s home numerous times with engineers offering advice to help to fix his situation. Kale adds that they’ve been working with Militun for the past two years and they want to make sure they maintain that positive relationship.
