On one side of Joe Listek’s property in Woodland exists a construction site that has him concerned about flooding, while on the other side is a rowhouse neighborhood where multiple visible oddities are occurring on his land.
One snowy morning after Listek went outside with his dog in 2019, Listek said he thought he was seeing a ghost out closer to Lewis River Road. After further examination and walking to investigate, it became apparent that steam was rising from a hole in the ground, spitting out raw sewage. That problem has continued, and remnants of toilet paper exist around the hole in the ground.
As the sewage problem persists, the land in that portion of his property has become increasingly soft, he pointed out. An apple tree that was once producing large Granny Smith apples is now producing apples the size of a walnut.
He said he would have to disclose the fact he had open sewer on his property, “and they’re going to want to know, ‘Well, can we see the remediation plan and where the soil went and where the soil came from that went in there and fixed it,’ that’s the law,” he said. “I want what makes this thing whole and fixed. I’m trying to do the right thing and be a good neighbor, but it falls on deaf ears.”
Listek also showed how a section of the rowhouses have a downspout that should be connected to a pipe, but it is not and has since poured down and eroded the land on his property. To add to Listek’s growing problems, a fire hydrant located between his property and the rowhouse neighborhood is leaking underground and emerging as a nearly steady stream onto his property, further eroding the soft, sandy soil as he lives along the Lewis River.
Listek explained that he has taken these problems to multiple jurisdictions to find a solution, but nothing has happened yet.
“I don’t want a court battle. I want it fixed,” he said. “But now I’m like, well, if the shoes are on the other foot, you know what remediation is going to cost? What if they do come and say I need to remediate? So in order to sell, I would have to.”
On the Woodland sewer system map, a line is shown ending on River Rock Drive near the site of the hole on his property.
But on the opposite side of Listek’s land, from his patio, he now gets to enjoy the sights and sounds of an 85-lot subdivision being constructed. Listek said they pushed soil that was once used for dumping trash right up against his property, having once seen them clear 11 tires from the berm that runs along his property line.
But Listek’s main concern with the Lewis River Subdivision isn’t the progress of a residential development but rather the fact they’re building a flood plain at the same level as his property. The site plans to show and explains the flood plain that is being constructed, which will also build new habitats with native plant species.
However, Listek sees the likelihood of the floodplain not being able to hold enough water and would run right onto his property, after he said the construction site broke through the river mantle.
He pointed out where it was 4-feet deep on his property during the 1996 flood and expressed his concern that it could happen again as a result of the project next door.
