DECATUR, Ala. (WHNT) – A group of Decatur residents are concerned about flooding as new development moves into their area. Poole Valley Road, just off Highway 31, is the focus of concerns.

“You can still see where all the grass is matted down, we ain’t had a rain a good rain in about a week, but yet the grass is still drenched and still sitting down,” Chaz Bryant, a neighbor, told News 19.

Residents of Poole Valley Road SW are voicing their concerns about flooding, despite the city’s assurance that a new subdivision of 188 homes won’t be a problem for those currently living there. They say that since the water retention pond has been built, more water is flowing in the local drainage.

“Flooding has been here, we’re not stating that it never happened, or it has never been flooded. What we’re saying is, it’s more severe than it’s ever been,” Bryant said.

Bryant told News 19 that the road has been shut down before from flooding before the houses were built, “It’s even worse than it was, so that’s even more road blockages that we’re gonna have to put up more frequently.”

Poole Valley residents have taken this to Decatur City Council meetings. Since then, the city said their plan is to clean and maintain the ditches and pipes to help with flooding.

Decatur’s Street Department Manager Shane Kirby told News 19, “We’ll keep them cleaned out, and do it on a routine basis. Not every week, but as it’s needed as they silt in over time, the pipes of the culvert get damaged or something like that to prevent the water from flowing through but we’ll just make sure all that’s opened up and cleaned out.”

Citizens say they wish the ditches not just on Poole Valley Road were dug out, but they’d like the digging to be carried out along Central Parkway.

The ultimate concern is for the water to drain so people in the area don’t get stranded or have their homes flooded.