Neighborhood Nuisance: People living along swan creek want City sandbags that have been in place for over 16 years removed

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - Jesus Amaya has lived on Crawford Avenue in Toledo for most of his life and he recalls years ago when the City of Toledo was repairing the pump in Swan Creek.

Amaya said the city placed the sandbags around the creek and said they would be temporary, yet 16 years later they are still there.

“In 2006 we had a flood, and they said they were going to have them as a temporary fix until they did the piping because I guess the piping collapsed,” said Amaya.

Over the years the bags have fallen apart and caused damage to the lots.

“As you can see the bags are disintegrating, you can’t do much, can’t move them. And now you’ve got a lot of overgrowths,” Amaya said.

Amaya added that he continues to call the city inquiring about a resolution.

“Every year I call annually, saying ‘hey are you going to get the sandbags.’ They always tell me no it’s not our responsibility now, it’s yours,” said Amaya.

13abc reached out to the city of Toledo and a spokesperson said it was ‘very odd’ that the bags were still there.

The spokesperson said crews from the Department of Sewer and Drainage would be addressing the issue immediately.

Amaya said he would’ve taken care of the issues years ago, however, it’s costly to remove the bags.

“It’s expensive, cause they are going to have to bring dumpsters here, dozers to pull it up. Because you can’t just dig it it’s so many bags,” he said.

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