Two days after winning approval from the Pearl River Board of Aldermen earlier this month to fill in a ditch on his property, Bud Schultheis got a letter he didn’t expect.

Signed by Mayor James Lavigne, the letter notified Schultheis that all work must be done by a licensed contractor, that all the materials must be new, that it must match the drawings he provided from a licensed engineer, and that he would be required to pay inspection fees, in addition to picking up the tab for the work.

That didn’t sit too well with Schultheis, who has lived in the town for over 50 years and had fought for quite some time for the right to fill in the ditch on his Ash Street property.

Pearl River resident Bud Schultheis inspects a ditch on his property, where he wants to close in the ditch and install subsurface drainage. Schultheis has won approval to proceed with the project, but did not expect to pay for it himself. (Staff Photo by Anne Lautzenheiser)

Maintaining the ditch had become a problem, he said he couldn’t get around the area on his riding lawn mower, and when he slipped and fell recently trying to clear out the weeds, he decided it was time to fill it in and install subsurface drainage. According to Lavigne, who has performed grading for drainage himself for nearly 20 years, such systems are too easily clogged and can contribute to street flooding.

“I never would let people close their ditches because it’s too hard to keep the catch basins clear,” said Lavigne. “I might let them add an extra driveway pipe, but that’s about all.”

Now that Schultheis has been given the go-ahead, Lavigne said officialsare trying to set up guidelines similar to what the parish and other areas have in place. In Slidell, for example, if a homeowner wants to fill in their ditch, they must get approval from the city engineering department and the work must be completed at their own expense.

The homeowner must also pay for inspectors to examine the work, to insure the work is being done to the right specifications and is properly installed.

Homeowners are generally responsible for ditch maintenance, as most municipalities just don’t have the manpower to do so on a regular basis. Should the job be especially difficult, however, the homeowner can request assistance from the town.

“If a ditch is silted in to the point that it restricts water flow, the homeowner can call and make a work request for us to dig it out for them,” said Rueben Castillo, senior crew chief for the City of Slidell’s Public Operations Department.

The Pearl River Board of Aldermen will hold a workshop at 6 p.m. on June 9, just prior to its regular town hall meeting, to discuss the parameters of future projects of this nature. Lavigne said he wants to set it up so that any resident wanting to install similar drainage can have a package that spells out exactly what is required.

In the meantime, Schultheis said he still has a lot of questions.

“The town built new sewers and ran electrical lines for that new museum, but they can’t help me out with my ditch,” said Schultheis. “You can work all your life to pay for something and still not own it.”