Drainage Issues Flood White Horse Farm in Harbeson

HARBESON, Del. - Patty Summers says her four-acre property in White Horse Farm has been flooded since November. She says the water began filling in on the edge of her property that's closest to Johnson Road and that within a day or two, the water was up to her shed, which sits just off of Johnson Lane. 

"You can literally hear the water coming," Summers says. 

Summers says her backyard is normally green with grass, but now she feels like she lives on a lake. 

"I'm worried about my leach fields," Summers says. "I'm worried about my home and I don't want to turn around and flood anyone else out."

The last time her yard flooded was 2009. Kathy Capozzoli's yard next door hasn't flooded since her home was built in 1996. 

"It's under my house," Capozzoli says. "My sump pump isn't really picking up with it quite fast enough. I can hear my furnace and my front yard is a marsh."

DNREC says its Drainage Program completed two projects in the White Horse Farm Development in 2010 and 2011 and that the agency has requested this issue to be added to the Resource Conservation and Development Projects list in FY22, pending approval from the Bond Bill Committee and landowners.

Representative Steve Smyk says this water is rising with the county's rate of growth and development and that the level of growth must be maintained by all government agencies. 

District Three County Councilman Mark Schaeffer says drainage issues like this are happening in communities that were established before county codes for stormwater management. 

"The county has much more stringent stormwater management codes in place and we work with DNREC and Sussex County Conservation to oversee those and review any plans that are submitted to the county to make sure that there's adequate stormwater management in place to take care of flooding when it does occur," Schaeffer says. 

Summers hopes the flood in her yard drains away soon, but as the water extends to her neighbors, so do her concerns. "If you go on (Route) 5, there's so many people under water and they don't have any resource for the water to go," Summers says. For now, Summers hopes her sump pump keeps the water at bay.   DNREC says all impacted property owners must give their approval before project scoping and planning can begin to determine if drainage relief can be developed.