LYONS, Colo. — A homeowner in Lyons can only watch as the continued rain eats away at his property, and after a misunderstanding about who controls the land below, the problem is only growing.
“I love rain but this is not good for the soil,” said James Morton, who owns a home that sits above North Saint Vrain Creek.
For the past couple of weeks, Morton has watched as the land beneath his retaining wall, crumbles and erodes into the rising water below. There is currently a span of more than eight feet suspended above the water, with a hole between it and his property.
“If I didn’t have that fence (my grandkids) would be over here looking in this hole and I don’t want to risk them falling through.”
Morton’s retaining wall hasn’t always been in harms way. It sat on a gradual slope for years, but the slope disappeared during the flood of 2013 and the hole in his yard appeared this spring.
“All the rest of this has opened up since we had the heavy rain two weeks ago,” Morton said.
James said he thought CDOT was going to help him with the erosion during a bridge repair project scheduled for last winter, but the project was delayed and then he began to hear that his erosion might not be addressed.
“They’re still not indicating that this is part of their design,” Morton said.
On Tuesday, a CDOT spokesperson told FOX31 Denver that Morton’s erosion is definitely not part of their repair design. They said the CDOT right of way ends just before his problem begins.
James was waiting for CDOT based on an agreement several years ago in which he was paid for a permanent easement that extended into his property, but Tuesday a CDOT official notified him that he is still responsible for the land and that he can fix it without interfering with the right of way.
He says he plans to move forward as quickly as he can, but with the continued rain, he’s not sure he can stop the problem from growing.
“If the wall goes I’m not sure what will happen to that corner of the house,” Morton said.