LC Residents Blame Developer For Flooding Problems
LAS CRUCES, NM – Some East Mesa residents blamed their neighborhood developer for flooding after heavy rain in the area.
The flooding waters were so bad that some residents were unable to leave their homes until the water went down.
“I can’t make it to work,” Joseph Garcia said. “I’m supposed to go to work, but I can’t make it because of this mess.” He said a neighborhood contractor was to blame.
“When they did this, the building of this dam, all the water that’s coming down is coming straight there. Once it gets full, the water comes straight at your house,” Jerry Moreno, an East Mesa resident, said.
Developer Ken Thurston built a retention pond that is ineffective, according to Moreno. When it overflows, the neighborhood gets flooded.
“Now we have more rain coming,” Moreno said. “So what are we gonna do? We won’t be able to go to work.”
The retention pond was built to hold the increased difference in water between pre and post development. Trunsten and his engineers visited the site Thursday afternoon to assess the situation, Trunsten said.