Most of the time, farmers welcome rainy days. Chad Luckett loathes them.

He doesn’t have anything against farmers, but when your backyard could serve as a neighborhood swimming pool after a steady rain, it causes concern.

“We could be flooded six more times” before scheduled stormwater improvements to the street are made, he told the board.

Luckett was far from the only panicked city resident to show up for the meeting, as heavy rains in June resulted in flooding throughout low-lying neighborhoods near Klerner Lane.

Further complicating the problem, excessive rains June 26 led to stormwater penetrating sewer lines in some areas, forcing wastewater into homes and causing extensive damage.

Sewer and stormwater officials said it was an epic rain that fell onto an already saturated ground, as last month was the second-wettest June on record for the city.

Stormwater Chairman Ron Carroll suspended the normal proceedings of the meeting, as he addressed the crowd and let city engineer Tim Marinaro talk about plans for solving the problems. Marinaro suggested raising runoff fees to help with infrastructure and research costs.

“We would see benefits resulting in less flooding,” he said.

The board agreed with Marinaro, though the New Albany City Council has the final say on whether the fees will be raised.

Board members did not say how much of a rate increase they would suggest or when it would be brought before the council.

The average stormwater fee per household is $38 per year, Utilities Director Brad Kessans said. As an environmentalist, Kessans is passionate about doing more than adding pipes.

“I don’t know of a single creek in the city that’s holding water fine,” he said.

Tampering with watersheds can cause problems up or downstream, Kessans added.

While the city can remove debris from creeks, it is not allowed to widen one without approval from either the Indiana Department of Environmental Management or in some cases, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

“If we do work in one area, it could send that water zipping down toward another,” Kessans said.

Where the water goes now is into the backyards and basements of many residents along Castlewood Drive and other surrounding streets. One lady choked back tears while she told of how her husband, who recently suffered a heart attack, tried to remove debris from their backyard to ease the flooding after a rain while stormwater gushes around him.

“If he was to have another heart attack, the ambulance wouldn’t even be able to get down our street,” she said.

Whether there is something that can be done immediately is still up in the air. Beginning Monday, Kessans and 10 workers will be out in the Castlewood Drive area looking for clogged ditches and clearing debris.

But the city’s stormwater masterplan focusing on infrastructure upgrades could take up to two years to implement, though Marinaro said Castlewood is now the top priority.

Councilman Jeff Gahan represents the Klerner Lane area and stated at the meeting he will pursue an appropriation from the council to aid homeowners that have suffered the brunt of the damage.

He tabled an appropriation request Monday that would have freed up $75,000 of Economic Development Income Tax dollars for flood victims, saying he’s not sure that’s enough money.

He said Thursday something has to be done.

“Some of these people have been flooded out three or four times this year,” Gahan said.

To make matters worse, some residents said they have recently received notices that their homes are now considered to be in floodplains. The city is not responsible for making those calls, as The Tribune is still attempting to verify where they came from.

One resident said his was sent from the Environmental Protection Agency, but a spokeswoman with the EPA said in a phone interview that the agency doesn’t typically make those decisions.

Then there’s the aftermath of the flooding. As of press time, yard debris and furniture removed from homes were still sitting on the curbs of many of the flooded streets.

The city’s trash provider, Indiana Waste, doesn’t remove yard debris, so the New Albany Street Department is stuck trying to collect the items while performing its normal duties.

Whether it’s dealing with flooding or picking up the mess that’s left behind, New Albany resident Allison Stemle — who said her house is unlivable now — summed up what most residents expressed Thursday.

“It’s really a helpless feeling, because I’m waiting on you,” she told the board.