Cumberland County ditches still filled with water after Tropical Storm Debby

It’s been almost a week since Tropic Storm Debby dumped a ton of rain on North Carolina, but some communities still have standing water in roadside ditches.

It includes ditches along John McMillian Road in the Gray’s Creek neighborhood of Cumberland County.

Patty Nunnery, who has lived in the neighborhood for 20 years, said the standing water in a ditch near her home is a pain.

“It’s been standing here stagnant for so many days now,” Nunnery said. “It’s breading mosquitoes.

“It’s doing all kinds of things that it shouldn’t do.”

WRAL News has seen standing water in ditches in several Cumberland County neighborhoods. Nunnery said it doesn’t take a tropical storm to make the ditch in front of her house overflow.

WRAL News asked the North Carolina State Department of Transportation which agency is responsible for keeping the ditches clear.

“On these state-maintained roads you see throughout the county, [the] DOT is responsible for maintaining, making sure they’re safe and hazard-free and that includes our drainage ditches,” said NCDOT spokesperson Adnrew Barksdale.

Barksdale asked residents to remain patient. The NCDOT has about 4,500 miles of roads with ditches in Cumberland County.

“Because you contacted us about [Nunnery’s] address, [she] does not have to go to our website and contact us,” Barksdale said. “I’ll make sure we’ll get this address in our hopper.”

WRAL News asked Nunnery how she felt knowing the state would clear her ditch.

“I love that,” she said.

Anyone needing to report a drainage issue to the NCDOT can visit its website or call 1-877-368-4968 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays.