Home Right In Path Of Runoff From Overpass

Rain, rain, go away.

Or as a woman east of Las Cruces said, just keep it out of her house.

Wilma Williams says monsoon rains are not causing flooding inside her home, but the Highway 70 overpass near the Brahman Road exit is.

Williams said a threatening sky is her worst fear because any time it rains, her property turns into a flood zone.

“It’s very, very frustrating,” Williams said. “I never know when water is going to come in the house,” Williams said.

The culprit, Williams said, is the runoff that washes down the overpass and into her property, instead of into a drainage ditch or canal.

“It has washed away the dirt in the yard,” Williams said. “The level of the land is different.”

Williams said she is scared to even leave her home in bad weather because all the rainfall will wash into her place.

There are two metal drainage pipes in the ground, but they are useless, Williams said, because they are completely submerged in mud from the years of debris that has floated her way.

“We’ve had to rip up carpeting, replace some Sheetrock … the whole nine yards,” Williams said.

The outside of her house is lined with sandbags. Williams said she has been protecting her home like this for the past eight years since the overpass was built.

“We got a hard rain, and it flooded like crazy,” Williams said.

Someone from the New Mexico Department of Transportation even surveyed the area in December and provided Williams with a map, outlining the path of runoff headed toward Williams’ property. Even so, Williams said nothing has been done to stop it.

“If I had any idea I would have to deal with something like this, we never would have bought and built here,” Williams said.

NMDOT spokeswoman Bridget Spedalieri said officials are not aware of any other nearby residents dealing with a flooding problem but said someone will be out there to evaluate the situation and make adjustments.