WREX.com – Rockford’s News LeaderLoves Park neighborhood blames flooding on Woodward Governor construction

Loves Park neighborhood blames flooding on Woodward Governor construction

By Marissa Alter

LOVES PARK (WREX) - A Loves Park neighborhood cleans up its own flooding, but the mess isn't because of a rising river level. People living along Sydney Ave. and Pearl Ave. blame their corporate neighbor, Woodward Governor, for water in dozens of basements.

Woodward's in the middle of a multimillion dollar expansion to its plant along N. Second St. Homeowners nearby say the company tied in to their neighborhood storm system, and Woodward's construction, plus all the extra rain last week, overloaded it.

Shawn Miller can't hold back her tears as she tries to dry out her waterlogged belongings. Among her stuff, hundreds of photos, memories going back to her high school days.

"We have pictures from prom, from junior/senior banquet, church events, and I had to throw them away this morning," she says breaking down. "My son's first step, his first birthday."

Miller was supposed to move out of her mother's Pearl Ave. home Monday. She packed up all her belongings last week and stored them in the basement.

"On the desk, on shelves, on the bar, on my dining room table."

Friday, water rushed in to basement. Miller evacuated when it hit waist deep. The next morning it was even higher.

"Water was three steps from the landing, from the top."

Her stuff was soaked, some destroyed completely.

The Dobson family fared better, but still had an inch and a half of water in their basement. They say it's the fault of their expanding neighbor.

"The water was shooting out of the storm drain because the capacity wasn't there," Relda Dobson recalls. She's lived in her Sydney Avenue home since 1969 and says there haven't been flooding problems in recent years. 

"Woodward needs a storm drain of their own to handle their runoff water. Don't overtax our storm drain. That's all I want. That's all my neighbors want," she says.

But Woodward's spokesperson says the flooding isn't the company's fault. She says last week's unusual amount of rain maxed out the drainage channel to the east of Woodward, and the company's property flooded too. Water from there may have moved into the neighborhood, but Woodward has no control over that.

But the Dobsons disagree and worry if things don't change, they'll be cleaning up their basement again this summer.

"Till they realize they need their own storm drain, we're going to have the same problem."