A Lone Wolf is Easy Prey

 

Edition 1. Issue 3.

 

Proof That a Lone Wolf is Easy Prey

In the first two issues, I urged the SV residents to organize and develop positions on issues such that they could be presented to the SV Board as the wishes of the collective. Of course, as an older man I’m quite capable of ignoring my own advice, and this issue is the proof of that.

Over the last couple of months, there have been a couple of drainage issues that caused discussion among the SV owners. As a licensed Civil Engineer, and as an older man, I couldn’t resist the urge to solve these issues for the neighborhood and become a hero. The latter certainly hasn't been the result.

Some of the discussion included a statement by an SV Board member about how SV was vexed in solving these problems due to the restrictions of “the SWPPP” (Storm Water Pollution Protection Plan). I was intrigued by this statement and began to wonder just what the SWPPP included. After quite a lot of Googling, I found the website for the Williamson County government (they maintain one of the best local government websites I have ever seen!) and their stormwater management program. I also discovered a very helpful and knowledgeable fellow, Michael Scott, who is the Stormwater Coordinator. After a few conversations with Mr. Scott about getting a copy of the SWPPP, he suggested that I might want to talk directly with David Horwath, with Land Innovations, LLC (Rochford’s development partner on SV). So, I did. The resulting email thread follows from my attempt to suggest ways to solve one of the standing water issues (by the way, I am still determined to get a copy of that SWPPP and read it to understand how it restricts finished pavement on some streets, while allowing it on others):

 

Dear Mr. Horwath

Good morning. I was given your name by Michael Scott (who is copied on this email). I hope you are doing well and that you can help me with a couple of questions relative to storm water drainage in Stephens Valley. I am a resident of Stephens Valley and I have taken on the project of helping to answer question the residents have about certain nuisance standing water issues, and, hopefully, solve one or two of them.

The most puzzling issue is nearly daily water ponding at the belly of a vertical curve in Secton 1 – Phase 2. At a raised median that contains a stormwater collection box labeled “Bioretention A” on the plans attached to the recorded SWPPP, both sides of the street collect deep nuisance water. This collection is mostly associated with a rain event, but there is some nuisance water there even on dry days. This is puzzling.

The final course of asphalt has not been installed adjacent to the southern curb cut for drainage into a drop box inlet, so a small amount of water cannot even access the inlet, but the problem is much larger than that. I am wondering if your firm has done as-builts of this and if the inlet elevation of that drop box has been checked to make sure it is lower than the curb cut. Can you please verify that? Further, is it possible that the slope of the pipe from that inlet to the collection box is incorrectly built? Verification of that would be good.

If I were to guess, your firm has likely designed the elevation properly and the slope of the discharge pipe. I’m also going to guess that these elements were checked as built and they were correct. That leaves the likely scenario that the inlet, the discharge pipe, and perhaps the collection box, are silted up and the design invert elevations are not the present elevations because they are full of debris and mud. Can your firm check this out and communicate with the developer to get this situation remedied? I would love to be able to report to the hundreds of residents affected by this nuisance, that a cause has been found and that repairs are scheduled.

Thank you.

William J. Ray, P.E.

 

Dear Mr. Horwath:

Two weeks have now elapsed since I sent this email. I think that is a reasonable time for you to have given me some sort of response. Do you intend to respond? I would love to get my questions answered via this simple exchange of information, as opposed to filing some sort of complaint with Williamson County.

Thank you,

William Ray PE

 

Mr. Ray, 

Good morning. I did not receive this previous correspondence. I just checked and see that it was marked spam. I apologize for that. I will review your concerns and have a response sent back to you later today. Thank you for your concerns and reaching out. I just need to check our notes and talk with the contractor and engineer of record to make sure my assessment is correct. 

Thank you, 

David Horwath 

 

Mr. Horvath,

Thank you. I was afraid that might have happened!  I look forward to this information as does the neighborhood!

Billy

 

Mr. Horvath,

Additional FYI. Just took this pic. The inlet is taking some water now, but as you can see, ponding must be near top of curb for it to flow. Problem could be that the riprap is poorly placed or clogged.

Billy Ray

Billy,

I have verified the information you have been previously provided by our development partner and the HOA is accurate. I’m the one that gave them the details. I would encourage all residents to utilize the HOA portal available to them for any questions. This is the only way we can ensure that the messages sent out are consistent and factual. This area will unfortunately have nuisance water until we can reach the appropriate build out to topcoat roads and turn them over to Williamson County per the regulations. Regarding routine and regular maintenance, we have active agreements with certified contractors to perform this work as required by the regulations.
Thank you,
David  

David,

Thank you for the response. It was timely, yet disappointing. I will copy it to the owners.

Billy

 

This exchange teaches us a couple of things. First, we’ve learned that Billy Ray is not charming enough to convince anyone on the SV development team to recognize the expertise available from the owners and partner with them to address the problems we share (so far), instead of digging in and defending the status quo. Second, we should learn from this treatment of an individual presenting a problem in the spirit of cooperation. Lone wolves are easy prey, and the status quo is quite well protected here in SV, even though simple and effective solutions might be presented. I still feel that we can break down that wall. Again, my suggestion is that we use our collective talents to create some sort of legislative body who can present problems and solutions to the SV Board in a manner which is not so easily dismissed. Who among us can organize such a body? We also have a bit of a ‘Tower of Babel’ problem in that there is not yet a single communications medium that reaches all the owners. Some use TownSquare, others use GroupMe, but often we fail to communicate because so many just do not get the message and thus many are not engaged. Sage Nozko started a process of collecting email addresses for everyone, and I think that is something we could use as a first step to organizing. Please participate in that effort!

On a positive note, for those who are subscribed to TownSquare, the last SV newsletter was very promising. There were hints at transparency in that issue as it provided links to meetings of the Design Review Committee. That is progress! Other great progress by the SV development team includes the astounding accomplishments on the pool, the pool building, and the sports courts. This is exciting! Who among us can help organize pickle ball lessons and create some sort of neighborhood annual championship?

It is hoped that this column will appear monthly, at a minimum, and it will attempt to illuminate the SV opportunities for creativity and partnership with our pseudo government right here in our beautiful valley. But I am not going to go it alone on authoring these essays. If you like to write, please join me in this endeavor.

William Ray - Author