"The Ditch"
What we have come to call “The Ditch,” is the area behind the houses on Mary
Musgrove Drive. The County Engineers and the US Army Corps of Engineers calls
it the Wetland Conservation Drainage Easement. This is a municipal and federally
protected area for drainage and flood control.
There are two distinctly different parts to
the ditch. Behind addresses 1 thru 19 Mary Musgrove Drive the ditch is an
intermittent stream. When the water gets to high it flows into the culvert that
carries it into the Storm Drainage system.
The second distinct part runs behind
addresses 101 thru 119 Mary Musgrove and along the side property line of 106
Settlement Way, here the ditch is defined as a Chanel. It is a terraced series
of retaining ponds that fill with water from rains and overflow from the
Lagoon. The storm drainage runs from Settlement Way, under the far side of the
property at 106 Settlement Way through a culvert that empties overflow into the
Lagoon. At the far and of the Lagoon the water Overflow enters the far end of
the Chanel and flows back towards Settlement Way. This works to keep our
properties and streets from flooding. Last week we had over 5 inches of rain
and the system is very healthy and worked well. Check out the pictures.
No alterations to this area can be
made. Our responsibility is to keep the ditch clean and clear of trash and
non-organic materials. Recent clean ups have removed Construction materials,
cans, bottles, Styrofoam and a large assortment of balls. It is now very clean
and the entrance way is being maintained for ease of entrance for Cleanup and
Mosquito Control.
Chatham County mosquito Control does
an excellent job of responding to our requests for assistance. Because of the
density of the canopy over the ditch, helicopter spraying does not always
penetrate to the ground. They come out often in the worst of the Mosquito
season and make egg counts, hand spray and have put gallons of small fish into
the water to eat the mosquito eggs.
Mosquito Control and The Ditch Update-March 5, 2013
From Jean Soucy...
We have a new Tech, as Laura has been promoted to a supervisors position. Our new Techs name is “ Everyone Just calls me B ”. She is extremely knowledgeable and Laura briefed her about our ditch. The recent rains have left the water very deep and there are literally millions of hatched and hatching eggs. These are eggs that were laid some time last fall and due to the moisture are now hatching. She hand sprayed a mineral oil on the water to block the larvae’s breathing tubes and destroy the young. Also she spread a growth inhibitor, to stop their growth to adulthood. I have seen a couple slow moving adults but I think we are ahead of a major infestation of mosquitos. The methods being used so far are all natural. The ditch remains clean and very healthy. 