City explores options to solve clogged ditch problem
City officials are exploring options to address clogged drainage ditches to help alleviate flooding around town.
El Dorado City Council Member Roy Bullock broached the topic during a council/water and public works meeting
Bullock, who sits in the Ward 3, Position 2 council seat, was appointed to the seat in 2023 to fill an unexpired term that was left by late Council Member George Calloway Jr.
Bullock was appointed to the position during a specially-called council meeting on July 27, 2023, and sworn in during a regular meeting two weeks later on Aug. 10.
Shortly after his appointment, Bullock pledged to focus on “open ditches” in town, adding that obstructions in the city’s stormwater/drainage ditches cause flooding along city streets and in residential yards during heavy rains.
“This is 2023. There’s no reason that there should be open ditches running through this community. A few weeks ago, when we had all of this rain, water was everywhere,” he said then. “Snakes were coming down the ditches - animals in open ditches. That’s one of my main issues right now.”
He made similar statements on Feb. 21, noting that the issue is a major concern in Ward 3.
“We have a problem with open ditches throughout Ward 3 and some of it in the Rock Island area that’s causing lots of blockage, a lot of trash and a lot of branches and when it rains, that water overflows and it affects the residents’ houses, yards and traffic,” Bullock said.
“It’s 2023, I mean it’s 2024 now. Why do we have open ditches in this city … We’ve got to do something about this situation?” he added.
He again referred to having seen snakes floating down flooded drainage ditches.
Mayor Paul Choate agreed, saying an open ditch often overflows during heavy rainfall behind his house in Ward 4.
Choate said each of the city’s four wards has “their share of” open ditches.
“But we’ve looked at some costs and it takes money to fix that,” he said.
Bullock pressed the matter, asking when and how will the city address the issue.
“You’re the council and this is where it’s addressed,” Choate answered.
There are six watersheds in the area that contribute to flooding problems around town, Choate said, noting that an engineering study is underway to assess watersheds in El Dorado as a part of a larger project that covers the Delta region.
A $95.9 million federal grant was awarded in 2022 to help mitigate flooding and watershed issues in the Delta region, particularly communities in the southern and eastern parts of Arkansas.
The federal grant flowed through the Arkansas Black Mayors Association in a partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.
El Dorado was one of 19 Arkansas communities that was included in the proposal due to an application and other paperwork that were submitted by former Mayor Veronica Smith-Creer, who was a member of ABMA.
Choate joined the group after he took office in 2023.
The city was awarded $680,000 to conduct a preliminary investigation/feasibility report and subsequent planning, design and construction for watershed and flood-prevention projects within the Bayou de Loutre, Dry-Creek-Little Cornie Bayou, Haynes Creek, Salt Creek, Boggy Creek and Holmes Creek watersheds.
“It’s a matter now of when they finish that study, what are the resolutions? And the next question is where do we get the money to make those repairs, to make those upgrades, alleviate those problems?” said Choate.
Earlier, Choate noted that he recently heard a compliment from a Parnell Road resident about work the city did last year to alleviate a stormwater problem on Parnell Road.
He said the compliment came after heavy rains earlier this month.
“He said he had lived there for 31 years and that was the first time he didn’t have to drive down flooded streets,” said Choate.
The mayor previously said the city is looking into options to address a low-lying, flood-prone area at West Hillsboro and Bradley Avenue.
He has also said that a highway improvement and expansion project that is being planned by the state for Hillsboro/U.S. 82 B through El Dorado will help tend to the problem along the corridor.
Council Member Frank Hash noted that in 2016 the Union County Solid Waste Authority agreed to divvy up its fund balance, which was then nearly $900,000, among Union County and member cities in the county.
The city of El Dorado used most of its portion — $350,000 — to clean and clear drainage ditches to help alleviate issues that often occur during flash flooding in the city.
“It’s not the panacea but it is absolutely a good interim remedy to stop and let the flow go better,” Hash said on Feb. 21.
Last September, the UCSWA agreed to divvy up $500,000 of its fund balance, leaving a minimum of $150,000 in the account.
El Dorado received a total of $310,000 ($260,000 for its cut of the balance and an additional $50,000 the El Dorado City Council agreed to leave in the account in 2016 in the event of an emergency).
Hash suggested dedicating the $310,000 to clearing drainage ditches around the city but Choate reminded him that city officials previously agreed to use the money to purchase equipment for the Department of Public Works, including a frontend loader and an incinerator for limbs and leaves that are collected by city sanitation crews.
Council Member Vance Williamson, who chairs the council’s Finance Committee, said the matter, along with other items, may be considered for potential budget adjustments during the next Finance Committee meeting.
Williamson said he expected a year-end city treasurer’s report “at any time” for the 2023 city budget.