For decades, drainage has been a problem on North Drucilla Avenue.
Residents have dealt with standing water there for years, prompting the city to commission an engineering study after repeated maintenance efforts of cleaning ditches, clearing trees, and more failed to provide a lasting solution.
At the July 13 Moundridge City Council meeting, representatives from engineering and design firm Schwab Eaton presented the results of a long-awaited drainage study for the area.
The study—consisting of surveying streets, measuring elevations and building hydraulic models—found that runoff from four watersheds converges in the area, overwhelming the existing drainage system during substantial rain events.
“You’re draining basically to the low spot, and so it’s having to work its way uphill,” Schwab Eaton project manager Jamie Goering said.
The natural grades surrounding the neighborhood slow the water’s escape, allowing runoff from multiple directions to collect faster than it can drain away. Even when ditches are clean and culverts are functioning properly, the surrounding topography limits how efficiently the system can perform.
“It is a significant amount of water,” Schwab Eaton engineer Phil McKinney said.
Goering said the watersheds result in approximately 460-cubic-feet-per-second flowing through the area’s current drainage system.
“They told us it’s like basically pouring out seven and a half gallons of water every second,” she said. “That’s kind of what it would look like if you poured that into a cube and just kept sending it. It’s a lot, and it’s all coming to one location.”
Goering and McKinney presented the Council with three options for addressing the drainage issue, ranging from simply replacing the drainage pipe and widening the ditch that runs through the middle of the field west of the road to building up the nearby streets as much as 15 inches while still ensuring yards drain to the street.
Rather than recommending a complete reconstruction of the street, Schwab Eaton proposed a phased approach that would begin by replacing a blocked drainage pipe and improving an existing field ditch before constructing a large concrete box culvert to intercept water from two of the largest contributing watersheds before it entered the neighborhood and diverting the water toward Sand Creek.
“It’s a place to send water where there’s intended to be water,” Goering said. “Getting it into the bed of that creek is really ideal.”
McKinney agreed, saying the Schwab Eaton recommendation would largely solve the problem.
“That’s probably your best bang for your buck,” he said.
According to the presentation, the approximate cost would be more than $700,000.
However, Street Supervisor Mike Strausz said the estimates presented by Schwab Eaton could be different than the actual cost because City employees could do some of the work.
Goering cautioned the area still may experience some flooding or water ponding, but the water would rescind more quickly.
To that point, McKinney said he believed the recommended plan would result in a 70% reduction in water backing up in people’s yards during a typical 10-year rain event.
“It’s reduced by quite a bit,” he said.
The only true “cure” for the issue, McKinney said, would be to take land away from the nearby farmers and cut in the city’s own ditch.
“We want to try to maintain as much farmable land as we can, though,” he said.
One challenge, however, would remain beyond the city’s direct control.
“The problem is the railroad,” Goering said.
The railroad corridor has influenced drainage patterns in Moundridge for generations. Ditches alongside the tracks carry runoff northward, but the railroad’s presence also limits how dramatically grades can be altered and how easily drainage improvements can be constructed.
“There has never been historically a great solution to the problem,” Strausz said. “If there was a good solution, it would have been done. Nobody’s ever looked at it and said we don’t care.”
Council members requested more detailed construction estimates, including options that would allow City crews to complete portions of the work to reduce overall costs.
Council addresses other business
In other business, independent auditor Cheryl Bishop presented the city’s 2025 audit, reporting no disagreements with management, no material weaknesses in internal controls and no violations of Kansas budget law. The report reflected another year of careful financial management and compliance with the accounting standards required of Kansas municipalities.
“It looks really good,” Bishop said.
Council members also revisited a discussion about prorating minimum utility charges between tenants sharing the same property. While members expressed interest in making the policy fairer for renters, they also recognized that utility systems carry fixed costs regardless of monthly consumption. Water lines, sewer mains, pumps and treatment infrastructure must remain operational whether a customer uses one gallon of water or one thousand. The council requested additional review before making any changes.
Later, members approved financing for a new street sweeper, replacing aging equipment.
Near the end of the meeting, Strausz shared that he was resigning after 26 years with the City of Moundridge.
He will be going to work full-time with Heartland Irrigation. Sept. 1 will be his last day.
“I appreciate the years the city has allowed me to work here,” he said. “I feel fortunate.”
