Crews clean up flooding in DRW

Some Deschutes River Woods residents are dealing with hazardous flooding. Deschutes County crews were out pumping a pool of water from between several properties Monday.

“We’re going to have a mess to clean up,” said flood victim Daisy Lydy.

Lydy said there’s a culvert under River Woods Drive that goes to Baker Pond, across from her property. She said she believes a neighbor has intentionally closed it off.

County officials confirmed there is a culvert that should be moving water, and residents don’t have a right to block it. But they said they can’t tell without further investigation if it has been intentionally closed off.

The water has been pooling since the snow started melting about a month ago, and now it is becoming a safety concern.

“So we get everybody’s rainwater, and when it starts super-saturating, we start getting people’s sewer, including probably our own from the (septic) drain field,” Lydy said.

The county is pumping enough water out of the property to find the cause and make the area safe.