JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Starting late Monday night and all through Tuesday heavy rain and thunderstorms are predicted to hit the Jackson metro putting some on edge with flash flooding.
Pecan BLVD. homeowners say clogged up street drains are causing the road and homes to flood.
The two women I talked to one who wishes to remain anonymous have lived off Pecan BLVD for over 40 years. But in the last two years, they have seen their road and properties engulfed when it storms and points to backed-up drain pipes as the problem.
Walking towards the John R. Lynch street intersection as you turn onto pecan, you can see the first couple of street drains jammed full with debris and dirt.
“It is solid, packed with dirt,” a lady told us. “So you tell me where’s the water going to run to? It’s going to flood people’s houses.”
“It’s hard to walk out there and even in the backyard, it’s too watery and muddy to go back there,” Muriel Frierson stated.
Earlier this year one of the ladies recorded the moment water took over her yard and entered her home, ruining her entire first floor.
“The carpet, the padding, everything, we cannot replace it until the city fixes this problem,” she said. “It will make no sense to spend money on it to flood again.”
She claims they’ve made numerous calls to city maintenance to unclog the street drains and filled out request forms, but have yet to receive a response leaving herself and 85-year-old mother at risk.
“She saw it coming in the front door and the back door and all she could do was go sit in her deceased husband’s recliner and cry,” she said.
As we moved further down Pecan Blvd. Other drains appeared on the surface to be cleared, but the Frierson household still claims to experience bad flooding.
“It gets so high you can’t go down the steps to the yard,” Frierson said. “You have to use the driveway.”
We reached out to Jackson’s Public Works Department who responded with a statement saying “The Department of Public Works continues to clean storm drains reported by citizens within the 311 system. The Department of Public Works will monitor the weather tomorrow, and advise traveling motorists to stay away from low line areas that may be prone to flooding. If any citizens want to report a flooded roadway, please have them contact the City’s 311 hotlines.”
In the midst of all this, both ladies told us they’re still charged sewer fees that come out of their social security funds. Money they believe isn’t put to its use when you look at the condition of the drains.
