EGELSTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – It’s a problem that’s persisted for years in the small subdivision of Pine Hollow in Egelston Township and now, the homeowners are fed up.
Rain, snow, or dry weather, their basements are flooded – no matter what. Now, several years and thousands of dollars a home later, the neighborhood is taking a stand to seek some relief.
They believe it is the fault of the builders who originally developed on the land. Claiming corner-cutting and lack of groundwater testing, the residents feel it is the responsibility of Marshall Builders to rectify the year-round flooding issue.
“Everything was done, the way I see it, kind of shoddy,” said Larry Hurtshaft, a resident in Pine Hollow. “It’s all because they didn’t do their jobs up front.”
FOX 17 reached out to Marshall Builders on Wednesday. Rob Marshall, who built fourteen out of the eighteen homes in the subdivision, said they contracted the necessary groundwater level testing to Grand Rapids-based engineering firm Roosien Associates. He said their tests showed no significant results that would have indicated a problem with the groundwater levels, but after reaching out to them, FOX 17 has not heard back from Roosien as of the posting of this story.
Meanwhile, homeowners are losing patience – and money. Some have paid upwards of $10,000 for sump pumps and water removal systems in their homes, and the constant running of those systems isn’t cheap either.
“I figure I’ve lost about $60,000 on the [value] of the home,” said Hurtshaft. “That’s a lot of money. Only way I’m going get it back is to take care of the water problem.”
And that may be the biggest issue of all. As of right now, there isn’t anywhere the water can legally go. Local and state ordinances prohibit residents from sending it to sewage lines and to a retention pond within the development. So for years, they’ve been forced to dump 60-80 gallons per minute into their own front yards. Often, that water ends up back in their basement. It’s a cyclical process they say is unnecessary and overdue for a fixing.
“I put a lot into this house. This is my home,” said Hurtshaft, “and it frustrates me that I can’t get anybody to do anything. We’ve got to decide what we want to do. Do we want to stay here, do we want to move? People are fed up. Do I take my losses and just run?”
