Keizer neighbors banded together at a recent Keizer City Council meeting, working to fix a problem.

This wasn’t the first time they complained about stormwater swales, a plant-filled ditch between the street and sidewalk that filters rain water along North Lydia Avenue and other Keizer streets.

“There is a risk of injury – falling into the swales,” Steve McCarthy told councilors recently. “The swales are about 18 to 24 inches deep, but they’re obscured by the bushes and vegetation.”

Following an appeal from residents, the city is considering solutions to the swale situation and has extended a moratorium prohibiting neighbors from building bridges over the swales.

North Lydia Avenue residents said parking is difficult. Oregon drivers must park within 12 inches of the curb. Residents said this gives passengers little room to avoid stepping into the swales.

“My wife and I have been very concerned about the safety issues,” Donald Sappington said to councilors. “One of our neighbors reported that at an open house just down the street…a passenger got out to view the house and fell right into the ditch.”

Sappington said that he emails guests to discourage them from parking by the curb.

Steve McCarthy said his relative was injured falling into the swale after parking.

“She put a tooth through her lip and damaged her knee. I think the only reason we weren’t sued is because she was a relative,” he said.

Robert Parsons, husband of Councilor Marlene Parsons, said he approached the city about the problem two years ago. He noticed the dirt washing out from the swales, deepening the pits.

Following his complaint, he said the city only refilled five swales with dirt. He’s now concerned about sidewalks collapsing.

“It’s now starting to erode from the curbside, so the street curb is now starting to be affected by it. If something’s not fixed…the sidewalk and streetside will collapse,” he said.

Hersch Sangster reported the same damage on North Lacey Street. He also said that weeds grow in the swales and are rarely removed by the city.

Some residents took the problem into their own hands and built bridges with composite lumber over some swales on Lydia Avenue and other streets.

The city cited those bridge builders for violating city codes. Bill Lawyer, the city public works director, explained that the swales are a part of Keizer’s stormwater system. The system, which includes underground pipes and basins, filters contaminated rainwater.

“It is against the city code to alter the conveyance system. The bridges alter the conveyance system,” Lawyer said.

“I can’t see how my 4-by-4 posts are doing damage to the amount of water that flows in there,” Howard Robertson said. “We were wrong for not getting it permitted…I was just trying to make my family safe, and that’s what this is about.”

Residents built the bridges using supplies recommended by the federal Environmental  Protection Agency. Despite meeting with city officials, including Lawyer, residents were told that they must remove the bridges.

At the city council meeting, the city extended the moratorium on the bridge removal for 180 days while it looks for solutions.

The swales were designed in 2015 to protect Keizer’s groundwater. Rain is contaminated by metals and chemicals on the ground. It can then contaminate groundwater – fresh water that collects beneath the surface.

Groundwater is a major source of drinking water for American cities, including Keizer.

“About 115 million people – more than one-third of the nation’s population – rely on groundwater for drinking water,” a federal study reported in 2015. “More than one in five groundwater samples contained at least one contaminant at a concentration of potential concern for human health.”

Bioswales, such as on Lydia Avenue, filter pollutants with plants. Other methods for filtering stormwater exist, such as creating large basins to hold water to evaporate.

Lawyer said that he reached out to other cities, such as Albany and Salem, to find a solution. So far, he hasn’t found one.

“This is not an easy solution. I’m not sure that there’s a practical solution out there. I’m not saying we can’t look for one, but it’s not an easy thing to come up with,” he said.

News tip? Contact reporter Riley Ellis: [email protected]

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