JACKSONVILLE, Fla — A ditch bordering a Jacksonville woman's Northwestside yard has grown deeper over the years and it's causing a number of problems to her property, she says.
Sallie Barnes lives in the Robinson’s Addition area off of Commonwealth Avenue. The exterior and interior of her home has a number of cracks, which she says, is caused by the ditch.
The ditch has caused the ground to slip out, which Barnes believes will get worse if nothing is done. Barnes says she wants it either filled or properly maintained to protect two things: “my property and my life,” Barnes said.
Because of water running from two retention ponds through the ditch, the ground beneath her fence has washed out, Barnes says.
Her pets have gotten out of that fence and never returned.
“I come home and my dog’s dead because they got out through a hole that the ditch washed out from underneath the fence,” Barnes added.
For years, she has asked the city to clean the ditch.
Barnes says the city claims it’s a natural drain, not an outfall ditch, which according to the city’s website is supposed to be maintained.
On Your Side reached out to the City of Jacksonville for answers. Their public works department asked we reached out to the city’s public affairs team. We are told the public works director wants to review the questions carefully before answering.
Recently, the city’s public works team wrote a letter to Barnes that two retention ponds that flow into the ditch were built by the city in 2003.
Barnes says they feed water into the ditch that passes by her home, but she says city officials have disagreed.
“They said it’s a tributary of McCoy’s Creek. We all know McCoy’s Creek is down there and it flows south not north,” Barnes said.
Since then, Barnes says she’s noticed the issue growing and she wants it to stop.
“They need to do the right thing, close it up or fix it and give us our property back and maintain it," she said.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection maintains permits for ditches like this.
We have reached out to see who filed the permits for the ditch. At the time this article was published, we are still waiting for a response.