Why are all those kids standing on the corner?
I told you about this last month and it happens every year: back to school. Soon daylight savings time will mess with our clocks and the kids will be standing or crossing streets in the dark. Please use extra care and drive carefully.
Hey! There is standing water in my yard!
Yes, and it is because of that wet stuff falling from the sky. Most of the communities in PGA National were built with a swale system that is designed to hold water. The swale is that “dip” in your yard parallel with the street and there should also be a dip in your driveway. It is supposed to hold water. Some of it soaks into the ground and some goes to the lakes.
Originally the water flowed within that swale house-to-house until it got to the main storm drain (that has the big metal grate over it) and from there it is carried to the nearest lake or canal. When we get heavy rains, the main pumps along the western perimeter of PGA National come on and pump hundreds of thousands of gallons of water out to the C-18 canal and into the wetlands west and south of the community.
Over the years, the swales have filled in with grass clippings so the water can’t flow properly. Many owners compounded the problem by elevating their driveways without the required Architectural Review Committee (“ARC”) permission and thereby created a dam so the water can’t flow as designed. Their driveway is now dry but every house next to theirs has a big problem.
When I hear this the next thing is, “Well, why don’t you people at the POA do something?” I’m back to being a “you people”…it’s just sad. Anyway, the answer is that the swale in front of each owner’s home is their responsibility to maintain. If you want the “you people to do something” we are going to send a notice to everyone on the street and require them to re-grade their swale (yep, take out the grass, bring in big equipment to re-grade then re-sod). Oh, and owners will need to re-define the drive if they have modified it. In reality, the HOA should be requiring owners to address this problem when it is discovered but as I’ve just described, it usually isn’t an easy fix. Some people have “yard drains” which you can usually see as a small box beside the drive with a plastic grate over it. That is connected to a pvc pipe that goes underground to each house then to the storm drain. If you have a yard drain, it will need to be cleaned out with a high pressure hose periodically (think about it, mud and water flows through the pipe and when the water dries out you have a dry clump of mud…now dirt…plugging up the pipe.)
I don’t want to bore you to death reading a whole book about drainage but keep in mind that the swales, as I said, are designed to hold water. If you still have standing water 24 hours after all rain stops, something probably needs to be done. The moral to the story: The POA can’t control rainfall…..please be patient and if you have yard drains clean them out.
Burnin’ Down the House:
Well, it is either some rock and roll song or you didn’t clean out your dryer vents!!! A very nice lady stopped by and said she just bought a new home and her dryer wasn’t working well. When she called the company, they found the dryer vent (between the dryer and the wall) with a long “hose” that was, of course, crimped and there was a ton of lint trapped inside. Of course, it probably wasn’t really a ton but it reminded me that clogged dryer vents are one of the main causes of house fires. Even I, a certified clean freak who regularly cleans the dryer lint trap with a brush, found a lot of clogged lint all the way at the top where the vent exits outside the building when I called someone to clean my vents.
Unfortunately, the POA can’t recommend (or even mention) the name of a company but check on line, or, if you are “old school” look in the phone book and you’ll find several dryer vent cleaning companies in the area. It isn’t expensive and I promise it will cost a lot less than your insurance company deductible after the fire! Dryer vents should be cleaned annually.
The End
I’ve discussed rain and fire and I’m all talked out. Just one little thing: The annual Art Festival and Craft Fair is being held in December. If you are a crafter who would like to let others enjoy your crafts (and if you’d like to make some money) why not join us for the Craft Fair? You can even get together with another crafter, buy an inexpensive canopy at the local discount store camping section and sign up for the event. If you prefer to buy your crafts, the Special Events Committee went back to the December date so you can shop before the holidays. Go to pga-poa.com for the application and for information about the event. Don’t worry, we will send you a post card reminder in November.