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2 ON YOUR SIDE: Homeowner's shed teeters over eroded canal as old, broken pipe threatens property
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BATON ROUGE - One woman's storage shed is teetering on the edge of a canal after the dirt under it was washed away due to a broken drainage pipe.
The city has known about the issue for several years, but can't access the area easily to make repairs.
If you walk into Natassia Forbes' backyard, you'll see a pool half-full of dirty water. It hasn't been used in several years because of an erosion issue happening next to and behind her house. She says the walls of the pool are collapsing.
"I call 311 a lot," said Forbes.
There are two orange barricades and a cart preventing someone from walking off a cliff. Forbes' fence is broken; it's lost its footing.
"I don't know what else to do," she said.
A massive drainage pipe runs along her house in the servitude. It dumps stormwater into a canal behind her house. The broken pipe pieces are sitting in the canal along with large pieces of concrete, possibly from Forbes' backyard.
"This didn't happen overnight," said Forbes.
Each storm, more dirt washes away underneath the shed. Forbes inherited the home on Woodcliff Drive from her mother, who died about four years ago. Before her death, Forbes says her mom called 311 to report the issue.
After reaching out to 2 On Your Side, Forbes learned that some of the property improvements at the house weren't properly approved by the city. The city visited the house on Tuesday and reported that the shed, fence, and concrete weren't properly approved. The Department of Maintenance says the items could have contributed to the deterioration of the pipe and created significant issues, preventing a crew from performing repairs.
On Saturday, approximately seven inches of rain fell around Forbes' house. That's when a large portion of the concrete supporting the shed broke off and fell into the canal. Inside the shed, there is lawn equipment and odds and ends that belonged to Forbes' parents. She'd like to save it.
"It's dangerous for anyone to come back here," she said.
The situation is all she can think about. Now she's trying to find someone who is capable of moving the shed to another location.
The city says the servitude access issues will need to be addressed before drainage repair work can begin.
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