Ditch at Fairways Golf Course Could Ease Nearby Flooding

City officials believe that creating a 400-foot-long ditch in could cut back on flooding problems for nearby residents.

announced the plan at Monday night’s North Canton City Council meeting, saying he hoped to get it on council’s agenda as soon as possible. He said the ditch would alleviate not all, but some of the flooding problems for nearby residents. That includes , a Ward 4 write-in candidate who talked to the Canton Repository about substantial flooding on her property after .

“So this really will be an immediate way that we can prevent the water rolling down to the Muellers’ and then to the Zimber Ditch,” Held said.

“It’s not a complete answer, but it’s clearly going to be beneficial."

(The flooding of the Zimber Ditch also has caused problems for residents throughout the years. Many voiced their opinions on that in .)

“If we get approval this year, this fall, we could quite possibly have this in place,” Held said.

City Engineer Jim Benekos said the city will conduct soil tests to determine where exactly to place the ditch and whether the ground is suitable for it.

The ditch would be 5 feet deep, 30-40 feet wide and about 400 feet long. The ground underneath the ditch should consist of sand and gravel so that water will eventually drain down into the ground, Benekos said.

Held said he brought up the idea of a ditch at the Fairways so that council could be prepared to allocate money for it once it is on the agenda.