BERLIN, Md. -- People in the Henry's Mill neighborhood are worried they will be on the hook to fix some costly stormwater system issues. They say some of these problems stem from other communities, so they are hopeful the town will step in and help.
'When it rains it pours' is how Donna Massey, Secretary of the Henry's Mill Home Owners Association described her neighborhoods current situation. She said there is a possibility the 48 homes could be on the hook for an estimated $30,000, just to begin fixing issues like outdated pipes and drainage ditches.
"It's a very scary position to be in to think of the possible debt that you are going to be in with no way that 48 lots can manage that money," said Massey.
Massey said Henry's Mill has reached out to several specialists in stormwater pond maintenance to figure out how much this whole process could cost.
"They've come back with $30,000 to replace a 10 foot section of pipe," said Massey. "Well we have hundreds of feet of pipes, and what good would it do to fix our pond and replace all of those things without the source being fixed first."
Now, stormwater management issues are nothing new for people in Henry's Mill, or in Berlin for that matter. Councilmember Jack Orris said it's a matter he's trying to get resolved.
"Who is responsible for it and how do we fix it, I mean I don't have an answer," said Orris. "I have asked that we sit down and talk about this for about a year now, I think we're getting some headway."
The biggest issue, according to neighbors in Henry's Mill, is that stormwater from Henry's Green, a nearby neighborhood, is flowing into their retention pond. While that is how the system is supposed to work, the extra water is more than the original system can handle.
"The fact of the matter is we're growing and we've had growth for the past 10,12, 15 years," said Orris. "It just seems like from my history of people sending me minutes is that we've really grown, but we didn't really look at the infrastructure."
Another issue stems from Henry's Green not having an HOA, so Henry's Mill HOA president Candi Combs said maintenance costs fall on her neighborhood.
"Henry's Green, they don't have an HOA so we're solely responsible for the maintenance of this pond, we get all their stormwater," said Combs.
Combs also said the onus for flood and erosion damage falls on Henry's Mill, and that some of those issues arise from an dilapidated system.
"Not only are we getting Henry's Green stormwater flow, but we get backflow from a different community which isn't supposed to be flowing into our town and that's because the drains are running in the wrong direction," said Combs.
Orris said the first step in resolving this issue is determining which neighborhoods, and are responsible for certain maintenance costs, and what the town can do to help.
"We need a map, we need a definite map of who owns what, and what do we do for folks who aren't in HOA's and their water seems to flow into HOA ponds," said Orris.
Massey said she's hoping the town can step in and help.
"We've gone to the town for help and they've been assisting us with as much knowledge as they can impart on us, but it's not their responsibility at this point," said Massey.
The town is not responsible for the upkeep of stormwater systems on private property, but Massey is hoping an exception can be made.
"Oh it would be so nice if they could assume a little responsibility and offer us a little assistance in whatever way is possible," said Massey.
Councilmember Orris said his goal is to get members of Henry's Mill HOA, members of Henry's Green and town officials together for a meeting to hash this out. A date and time for that meeting has not been set yet.
