Flooding in my house

[Chris Long]

Hi all,

I have a rental property in Tupelo, Mississippi that I bought about two years ago. I gutted the whole place and rehabbed it after I bought it. 

The house has a community culvert running next to it and it runs under the street before it gets to my house. The street has also been resurfaced several times and it looks like they just keep adding more layers without removing the one below. The street is now higher than my house and water tends to accumulate in the driveway. 

A few days ago we had some heavy rains and the culvert overflowed. The tenant states that the water was running over the street and there was enough flow that a small tree floated across the street and stopped at my fence that is right next to the culvert. The water also surrounded my house and was about 18” deep even on the side of my house opposite the culvert.

Water came into the house under the doors and it appears that it seeped in under the walls as well. I had to pull out all the flooring in the house that I just put in less than two years ago. I put in a couple of dehumidifiers and some fans to dry everything out. It looks like the level of water in the house was pretty low but the flooring was wet at least a little in every room. The walls look dry. 

My insurance won’t pay anything because the water is from outside. Is the city responsible for anything in this case? Should I do anything else?

It’s frustrating to tear out all of the flooring that I spent so much time putting in not long ago. 

Thanks for any advice.

Chris

[Rene G.]

@Chris Long

My mind instantly goes into problem-solving mode. How do you prevent this from happening again (regardless of what the City does/does not do)? In my opinion, the most important thing to do is find a long-term solution. Is there any way you can fix this on your own? 

Here in Florida water mitigation is a science. Can you put in a modified sump pump french drain system?

Oh, here, check out "Apple Drains" on YouTube.

Rene G