Glenn and Linda Torres and Anthony Masita have one major problem in common: Their properties are inundated with water every heavy rainfall.

Not just a few inches, but several feet of water flood their yards every time a storm system passes over their Major Lane homes just north of Covington.

The scary part is the waters come closer and closer to entering their houses during each flood.

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“I was stranded in here for three days,” Masita said, referring to the rain event created by Gustav.

Masita blames the flooding on nearby Lake Ramsey, which until recently blossomed into a posh living community adjacent Masita’s property and separated by a raised barrier of trees. But Parish Councilman James “Red” Thompson said water flooding Torres’ and Masita’s land is runoff coming from communities like Horse Branch north of their street, not from Lake Ramsey.

Thompson said when it rains, Horse Branch and the surrounding neighborhoods drain into a series of canals flowing south to the lake, where they empty into another drainage system that runs to the east of the lake, then into a retention pond leading to a manmade weir that funnels the water under Lake Ramsey’s main road.

It eventually connects with the Little Tchefuncte River leading to Lake Pontchartrain.

The ditch running alongside Masita’s house that inexplicably ends on Major Lane is also a drainage canal that is supposed to take runoff water north then around the lake to the main drainage system connecting with the Little Tchefuncte.

Instead, a large portion of the runoff coming from the north somehow finds its way into the ditch ending on Major Lane, where it collects and creates a large swath of water several feet deep, overwhelming their properties.

Earlier this year after the St. Tammany News published a story about the flooding situation on Major Lane, and after previous attempts and studies by the parish failed to alleviate the problem, Thompson met with the owner of the Lake Ramsey development and a settlement was reached.

The owner agreed to enlarge the retention pond and drop the weir nearly 3 feet to allow more water to flow through and hopefully prevent the runoff from backing into Masita’s ditch.

Thompson said the retention pond and weir have already been addressed, and the crews only have about three days left of work.

Once they finish, Thompson said the parish will go in and clean out the drainage canals from Horse Branch and alongside Masita’s property.

“If the water backs up again, we’ve got some other problem somewhere, so we’ll have to do more additional work,” Thompson said.

Masita and Torres hope the newest solution works, but both residents suggested some time ago the parish should extend the existing ditch ending on Major Lane several more hundred yards south and connect it directly with the Little Tchefuncte.

Thompson turned their suggestion over to engineers, who conducted studies on the area.

“I’ve had them redo the study several times, but all the parish engineers disagree with the canal being lengthened,” Thompson said. “They say water won’t go that way.”

Masita is beyond desperate because his horse-boarding business has taken a hit from the flooding.

“People don’t want their horses standing in water all day,” Masita said, adding the cost to re-gravel his driveway and re-sod his land after each flood is becoming burdensome.

If this latest measure doesn’t work, Masita said he plans to meet with Parish President Kevin Davis and then possibly Gov. Bobby Jindal.

“It’s killing me,” Masita said.