KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne reports on stories in Overland Park, Johnson County and topics about government accountability. Share your story idea with Isabella.
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Edwardsville, Kansas neighbors are calling on the city to fix a stormwater run off issue they claim the city made worse.
KSHB 41 News reporter Isabella Ledonne learned about the issue at Let's Talk Bonner Springs.
Every time it rains, Lane Cooper's backyard is filled with water running off from the sidewalk that backs onto his property.
"It's been real frustrating," Cooper said. "I have pooling water in my backyard, and from there it goes into my neighbor's fence."
Cooper explained there's always been a bit of runoff water in his yard. But two years ago, the city of Edwardsville put a sidewalk across his property line.
"It was manageable," Cooper said. "When they put the sidewalk in, we now have literally hundreds of gallons of water."
Cooper believes the problem is coming from the city removing his bushes and putting the drain closer to his yard.
"They didn't tell me they were going to be on my property," Cooper said. "I got back one day and all my bushes were gone."
Every time it rains, Seth Ramsey's fence gets a little weaker.
"You can see how it's just gouged a trench underneath my fence," Ramsey said. "In places, it's two feet deep. This amount of water is just causing a lot of erosion issues. It's threatening in places to knock my fence down."
Both Cooper and Ramsey explained they've contacted the city multiple times. Edwardsville provided gravel bags for the fence, but Ramsey explained it's not much help.
"I've got small kids who like to play in our backyard, they can injure themselves. You can easily fall in there and twist an ankle or something," Ramsey said. "One of our dogs escaped our backyard multiple times and was out in the street because we can't keep filling in all the spaces that get eroded away."
The neighbors explained the city recommended a swale, a shallow run-off channel going into the street, between their properties. But they don't believe that's the right solution.
"Now you're going to dig even deeper into what is my backyard?" Cooper said. "There should be a drainage system."
Frustrated with not getting answers from the city, Cooper came to Let's Talk with one goal in mind.
"For our voice to be heard," Cooper said.
KSHB 41 News reporter Isabella Ledonne reached out to the city for answers.
The city manager and mayor did not respond to our requests for an interview. The city manager instead sent a statement.
"The City has been engaged with the affected property owners since last spring. In May 2025, the City presented several options to Mr. Cooper and Mr. Ramsey to address their stormwater concerns, including erosion control measures, infrastructure review, and the City Engineer’s recommended construction of a swale," Mark Mathies said. "We did not receive any further communication from Mr. Cooper after those options were provided. Given the lack of follow‑up, the City understood that the matter had been resolved to the property owners’ satisfaction. The City remains ready and willing to re-engage with Mr. Cooper and Mr. Ramsey, including moving forward with the City Engineer’s recommended swale construction should they wish to proceed."
Ledonne asked city leadership for an interview again, but they did not reply.
"When you're treated like that, you lose faith in your government," Cooper said.
KSHB 41 News will continue to ask the city for answers and possible solutions.
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