Homeowners Complain Of Flooding From Swale

Drainage Woes May Test County Development Policy

Home buyers on Classic Court in Occoquan were drawn to the bright, roomy new houses when they moved to the cul-de-sac in the spring.

They found, however, that a staple of suburban living -- barbecuing in the back yard -- was drowned out by storm water that gushes down a steep slope behind the houses from the top of Classic Court at Elm Farm Road to the bottom. The water eventually makes its way to Hooes Run, which dumps into the Occoquan Reservoir.

The grass swale built by the developer to control the flow of storm water complies with Prince William County development policies and with conservationists' push for low-impact development, which means causing the least amount of disruption to the environment.

But the new philosophy to use swales instead of pipelines or paved ditches to control water differs from the vision of residents who bought their homes for at least $400,000.

The homeowners prepare for the worst whenever it rains.

"This is unacceptable. When you buy property, you don't expect to step in water," said Casandra Monroe, a homeowner whose family moved to the cul-de-sac from Prince George's County in March.

Kim Hosen, executive director of the Prince William Conservation Alliance, supports swales.

"The idea is to go back to Mother Nature. You have a bunch of people who don't understand," Hosen said. "They think water is bad. Water is good."

Supervisor Corey A. Stewart (R-Occoquan) and representatives of the county's Public Works Department gathered with a half-dozen homeowners in the rear of their properties to discuss the swale situation last week.

Standing in one back yard, the residents complained that their back yards were unusable and that the swale flooded their basements in the past.

Stewart said he suspects Classic Court is not alone, or will not be for long, as subdivisions continue to pop up on undeveloped land. Classic Court stands on the old Elm Farm.

"There are too many houses and not enough drainage," Stewart said. "There's too much density. These homes should have never been built here."

Each house on Classic Court is on a quarter-acre lot, leaving just enough space for comfortable-sized front and rear yards. But the swale encroaches on the rear space.

For houses on larger lots, the swales have not been an issue because they are not as close to the homes, said Mark Granville-Smith, a developer whose Classic Concept Builders Inc. constructed the homes.