IRONWOOD, MI - Thursday, August 14, 2008 -  Back on July 28, 2008, the City Commission heard Lowell Street resident David Kytola voice a complaint. He told the Commission that his yard floods periodically -- especially if any debris gets lodged in the gutters. He said the problem began shortly after the Lowell Street project was completed and, for the past year, he has been trying to get the problem resolved through City Manager Scott Erickson. 

Commissioner Tom Laabs asked several questions at that July meeting regarding the problem. He said there are only three things that can be done to eliminate the water issue -- (1) drop the gutters, (2) raise the curb, or (3) raise the driveway.

Kytola said several of his neighbors were also experiencing problems, and Scott Erickson told him a year ago that he would look into some kind of an epoxy resin that would solve the problem. Kytola told the Commission that he went online for 1/2 an hour and realized that there is no such epoxy that would do the job. Mayor Bruce Noren told Kytola that he would have City Manager Erickson look into the problem.

At Monday night's meeting, Erickson told the Commission, that due to the nature of the topography at this location a more pronounced gutter "flow line" needed to be established. According to Erickson, the current flow line is inadequate to divert the water from the yards and driveways in that area. Wayne Nasi Construction assisted the City by cutting a more pronounced flow line in the concrete gutter to help improve the drainage.

The photos accompanying this article show the "more pronounced flow line." Time will tell if this fix is successful or not.