Harding Ditch News Today

Residents have been asking for help for years.

There’s been flood prevention action taken in Southern Illinois following a FOX 2 series of investigations.

“Warning: Something happens as you age. You forget more, dream less. I wish I could dream more, forget less.”

The mayors and the director of the Metro East Sanitary District said other, wealthier St. Clair County communities should help pay for a key drainage ditch’s maintenance.

Metro East leaders are calling on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to help find a long-term fix to decades of flooding problems.

“I can’t do anything,” a resident said. “My hands are tied.”

The agreement for the state funding includes a requirement for the city to be transparent with residents about how they’re spending the money.

America faced three once in a thousand year rain storms last week in Missouri, Kentucky and Illinois that left at least 38 people dead as dozens more are still missing.

Mayor Robert Eastern III, in an interview with the BND, talked about reasons why the floodwaters lingered for days. How can future floods be prevented?

Derik Holtmann / Belleville News-Democrat U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin visited Centreville on Friday to acknowledge the flooding and sewage issues in the area and pledge his support for fixing them. But a group of residents who have been at the forefront of advocating for solutions said they weren’t informed of the senator’s visit. “I don’t like it at all, “ said Patricia Greenwood, a member of Centreville Citizens for Change, an alliance of residents who regularly face flooding pro...