20190986 Ver 1_email from J. Enzinna_20200501

Homewood, Sue
From: Latham, Tim
Sent: Friday, May 1, 2020 9:06 AM
To: Homewood, Sue
Subject: FW: [External] 592 Cedar Cove Lane, Fleetwood: almost 1 year since first contact
Attachments: April 2020 Updates to Documentation and Attachments to Letter sent to DEQ.pdf
Follow Up Flag: Flag for follow up
Flag Status: Completed
Sue,
Hope you are doing well. Received this very detailed document from Mrs. Enzinna, Ashe County. I think we may need to
have a conversation about our next approach. I will try to call Mr. Walker.
Tim
Timothy R. Latham
Senior Environmental Specialist
Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
336-776-9800 office
336-776-9656 direct
tim.latham©ncdenr.gov
450 West Hanes Mill Road
Suite 300
Winston Salem, NC 27105
E C151
NOM! i r -007. ihN
Uneriment al Em4anapiaMal 0,iallly
Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the
North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.
From: Jeannie Enzinna <[e-mail]>
Sent: Thursday, April 30, 2020 5:51 PM
To: Latham, Tim <[e-mail]>
Subject: [External] 592 Cedar Cove Lane, Fleetwood: almost 1 year since first contact
External email. Do not click links or open attachments unless you verify. Send all suspicious email as an attachment to
[e-mail]
Hi, Tim -
I hope this finds you well, especially given the challenge of COVID-19.
i

We have tried to be patient over the last 11 months, giving our neighbors time to rectify the situation they caused by
stripping their property of vegetation and plowing under the shack and the woods. Our patience is gone.
We understood the need to wait for an upstream solution before embarking on fixing our property, and have held off
accordingly. Unfortunately, the Walker's (our neighbors) have not made improvements to the untenable situation, and
we are now concerned about the ongoing damage to our property, and the possibility that re -directed sub -surface water
could effect our home's foundation. It is a stressful situation that is taking a toll on our personal relationship, and has
certainly reduced the value of our home - nearly all of our net worth is tied up in this property, and we're not getting
younger.
Please review the attachment.. I have included new photographs in the first section as well as the original information
we discussed in the second section, should you need to forward the information to anyone else on the team, or pass it
along to someone we will need to speak to at the Army Corps.
It would be helpful if you could reach out to my husband, Joe, as soon as possible to reassure him that the NC DEQ is
working on our behalf. He will be home on Friday, and if not here will have his cell phone; since he will not be working, it
is one of the best days to catch him.
Be Well -
Jeannie Enzinna
592 Cedar Cove Lane
Fleetwood, NC 28626
2

1

Jeanne & Joseph Enzinna
(Jeannie & Joe)
592 Cedar Cove Lane
Fleetwood, NC 28626
Both: 336-877-3616 (home)
CONTACT and AVAILABILITY Information:
Jeannie @ work: 336-846-1829 (kitchen design department, Lowe’s West Jefferson)*
(I have rotating days off, and different shift hours nearly every day, but can make arrangements to meet
any day with some notice.)
Joe: 828-406-6680 (cell phone) Joe works on a line crew with Davis H.Elliott (construction and maintenance of
electrical transmission lines) and is currently working in Tennessee and Kentucky most weeks. He is usually home
from late on Thursday afternoon-Late Sunday afternoon.

SPRING 2020 – Documentation and Updated Information on Continuing
Complaint / Assistance Request
End of
2019 Notes
• I last had correspondence with DEQ in August 2019. At that time I was
asked for patience as the agency was watching the Walker’s property for
improvements and it was hoped those improvements could allow some
of the damage to the surrounding watercourse, the creek connecting the
properties to each other and running into our pond, to correct naturally.
• We had been advised last summer (by a DEQ representative visiting the
property) it would be best not undertake large-scale, expensive
sediment removal until there was significant improvement in the run off
we were seeing, as both the silt pond and our ‘show-piece’ pond would
likely continue to fill with sediment and create additional expense of
having to pay to re-empty the still accumulating sediment.
• We understood that allowing the watercourse to naturally correct itself
would be the best, environmentally sound, course of action. We were
anxious about this plan as areas of our property adjacent to the pond
were showing signs of “sinking”, and the perimeter of the pond started
‘creeping’ inward. We began to notice flooding and standing water in
places where there had never been issues with water encroachment
previously.
• In an email from Water Resources at the DEQ I was advised that before
starting renovations and reclamation work to restore our once beautiful
pond, we would need to go through the permitting process and get an
assessment and plan from the Army Corps of Engineers.

April 30,
2020
We are contacting NC DEQ once again for assistance and guidance. Further
degrading of our property, including “sinking”, the diminishing the depth of our
pond, the inability to enjoy our home and landscaping (and feeling as if we have
to ‘wait’ for the Walker’s to address the problem before we make any
improvements that may be destroyed or undone by the extensive, destructive,
and costly repairs we now anticipate), coupled with the stress of all these factors
is compelling us to find a solution.

2

Water is now flowing over and around
the silt-collection area from the adjacent
property.
The previous stream banks are
altered/gone this is causing water to
flood across the woodland floor and what
was the yard surrounding our pond.
Several low spots have developed, and
we now have still, stagnant, standing
water. Silt is covering / smothering our
grass banks.

3

During Rainstorms silt is flowing beyond the banks of
what used to be the contained creek between the
Walker property and ours (the creek is now
significantly narrowed and shallower) and is pushing
the shoreline of the pond inward. Several stands of
marginal flowers have been smothered in this area.
4

After first rainstorm in early
April 2020
Indicating silt field beyond catch basin where clay and debris from the
Walker property is traveling outside the creek banks and flowing freely
across the ground after washing off the cleared hills. (Has come
across the unimproved lot and is depositing in our yard and washing
into the pond).
5

Taken while standing in the unimproved lot between our
property and the Walker’s, looking toward the Walkers.
Shows where water has traveled laterally over the creek
banks and deposited sediment outward. (Green vegetation
was not in foreground until last summer).
6

That’s my knee.
Photo taken walking on the empty lot
between the properties 4-15-20. Sunk
to my knee (16+ inches) into clay-based
silt and lost both shoes.
Trying to extract
my foot
One shoe….
One shoe rescued.
7

Creek Depth and Boundaries have been obliterated by silt incursion and uncontrolled run off from the Walker
property. During rains the water is now traveling off the steep embankments and then flooding laterally across
the empty lot. We believe this is causing our property to “sink” on the side closest to the Walker’s as ground
water is erroding the bank and getting closer to our foundation.

During heavy rains water is rushing across the top of the ground as is evidenced here by the grass laying over.
8

Water coming off the stripped hillside and directed into the woods washed this heavy wattle into the adjacent
property. There were NOT converging streams (as can be seen here) before the changes t the grade and the
elimination of the natural flow of the creek bed.

Note the deep pile of silt that has covered
the natural forest floor in the foreground.
The water flow that moved the wattle was
channeled (off the hill by use of a man-
made drainage ditch) into the wooded
area. Water and silt runs off the hill at the
rear of the Walker’s property into the
woods and towards our property.
9

10

Views from vacant lot approaching our
property thru the woods towards the back
side of the property (away from the road).
This area was always dry. The water now
flows across (and we believe has eroded
under) and has pushed standing water
into the area adjacent to the silt pond. It
is causing the perimeter of the pond to
“sink” or collapse. As of April 2020 it has
dropped over 12 inches within the past 18
months.
11

12

Area now has standing water and encroaching silt
13

Original Silt Containment Pond
Water has gathered behind and around the silt
containment pond and has remained standing while
seepage is causing the surrounding area to collapse.
We are very concerned that continuing seepage and
possible sub-surface changes in the way water is
traveling horizontally, will begin to threaten the
foundation of our home.
14

Water is now washing through the
adjacent wooded area, over the bank of
the pond and down the (sinking) hill.
Dramatic DROP (ledge-like) near the dock
where the pond bank was 15+ inches
higher less than 2 years ago. Standing
water is always here now.
15

As

Silt incursion is causing the pond to get
smaller as the banks collapse and
vegetation takes over. Several well
established (10-12 years of growth) water
lilles have been overtaken.
16

There was a well-defined creek inlet to
our property and pond, with a clean, rock
and pebble bottom. The depth and
breadth have been diminished by silt
incursion fro the uncontrolled run off from
the unstabalized banks of the upstream
property and the destruction of natural
roots and plans as stabilizer.
17

18

19

The turbidity of the water in the pond:
Three years ago, we could sit on our deck
and watch the fish and spent evenings in
the summer on the floating dock enjoying
the natural surroundings we worked so
hard to live in.
The water is brown constantly, choked
with floating silt and clay. We have
noticed a decrease in frogs & toads. We
cannot enjoy the home we have worked
hard for and have invested nearly all our
income in.
The situation is a source of endless stress
in our relationship and shows little sign of
being resolved based upon our neighbors’
ignorance and delays.
We are asking the DEQ to ensure us that
the cause of the problem will be
addressed so we can reclaim our home.
20

Photos taken of the Walker property from the roadway
April 2020

Bank collapsed (as of 4-30-20 no stabalization attempts; new silt fence was installed at base of the incline)

21

Nothing has been done to stabalize the bare slopes to the right, left, and behind the house. (as of 4-30-2020)

Trenches directing run-off into the wooded lot between our homes, and then onto our property were installed
and rocked to maintain drainage on their own property, including directing water and silt into the original stream
bed, through a culvert and under the new grass yard that places all the uncontrolled runnoff into the woods
between our properties.

22

The original stream bed, once part of a pond on the Walker’s property, is also collapsing from the redirection of
water and debris from the stripped hillside – the runoff is being directed into the streambed,
overwhelming the flow capacity and speeding erosion.
No effort to stabalize this “ditch” with stone or other material appears to have been made.

23

Drainage ditches at the base of both
stripped hills have been created AND
STABALIZED with rock. These empty into
the natural stream bed. The channel to
the right of the house is particularly steep
and deliberate. During a recent storm the
silt and debris channeled by this culvert
washed down so quickly it backed up the
stream and deposited thick layers of silt in
the opposite direction of the natural flow.
24

Two weeks ago, around April 15th, 2020, Robin Walker saw me taking photos (from the
roadway) of the collapsed bank on the left side of their property. She texted Joe to tell
him that they already had heavy equipment and an operator ready to come in and fix it
as soon as the area dried out a bit.
About a week later, the day after another rainstorm, Robin Walker contacted Joe again
via text to let him know that ‘not all the dirt was from their property, that a lot of it
was from the road run off, and that there was also dirt coming from the Yates
property’.
On the way to work the following morning I stopped in several places beyond the
Walker property and photographed the stream (in these photos) to document that
there is no excessive mud or silt up-stream from the Walker’s home. Plants, felled
trees and rocks were free of mud and had no extraordinary debris.
I feel these texts, the first communications either of us have had with the Walkers ’ in
over 10 months, were a disingenuous attempt to defer blame for their ongoing
negligence.
25

Background information:

General
DATES

Events

Notes
Late 2006 We purchased our property at 592 Cedar Cove Lane, Fleetwood, NC 28626 based on
discovering there had been a natural pond on the location in the past.
• The pond appears on a survey from the early 1970’s and may have been
documented even earlier.
• I have heard anecdotal evidence from local, lifelong residents about the pond
being here over 50 years ago.
• Effects of prior site work, followed by storms, had caused the pond sides to
be compromised and what remained was a marshy-bog-like wet basin. The
realtor we purchased from, Erik Lanier, had done some sitework to relocate a
natural stream, planning to develop the property into separate lots for
vacation cabins. When the bulk of the property would not perk, the project
was abandoned, and the property listed for sale.

2007-2008 Our focus was on reclaiming the natural pond as the primary feature of the pro perty.
(at the time we had a small business that installed eco-friendly water features and
had been looking for a property with water, specifically).
• Plans for our home were based on the restoration of the natural water
feature
• Sitework focused on reclaiming the existing pond and res toring the waterflow
to the previous natural stream-course using principles of eco-system
restoration and design
• An experienced excavator familiar with environmental rules, drainage, and
wetland construction worked with us to establish a “silt pond” (catch basin
for debris run off before it entered the pond) as well appropriate grade for
the pond perimeter with stabilizing naturalized edges, appropriate slope for
healthy aquaculture, and drainage that would prevent damage to our
foundation. The existing pond basin was reclaimed and restored to a
maximum depth of 24 feet in the center.

2008 Construction on our home was completed.

Fall 2013 Our silt pond was cleaned out for the first time. (We also made the silt pond larg er
and slightly deeper) in late 2103. *this was done contemporaneously with assembling
a storage building on our property (storage barn purchased from prior owner of 468
Cedar Cove Lane); we borrowed a trac-hoe and did both at the same time. (basis for
our date recollection).

2012-2013 The property at 468 Cedar Cove Lane, then owned by Wayne Fogelman, went into
foreclosure and was surrendered to the lender. This property is upstream from our
property.

26

Sept. 2014 The property at 468 Cedar Cove Lane, Fleetwood, NC was purchased by Jody and
Robin Walker. That wooded property featured a small pond in the front yard that
trapped inflow from natural water sources (mountain runoff and springs) and used a
height-extended, overflow-style drain that went down and through culvert pipe
under the driveway to out-let back into the naturally occurring downstream
watercourse that connects our properties through two additional lots.
We have no reason to believe that the pond created at #568 when the driveway was
made (in 2000 when the cabin was built) was in any way illegally placed or created
without regard for the surrounding mountain waters.

August 15,
2015
Jody and Robin Walker purchased the immediately adjacent, unimpro ved, wooded lot
previously owned by Raymond McMaster, from Ashe County (owed taxes by
deceased Mr. McMaster).
• Mr. McMaster was an indigent who owned and lived on the property in a
small shack without electricity or running water for over 15 years prior to his
death in 2015 at age 63. The approximately 10’ x15’ plywood structure was
filled with clothing, rotted food, electronics, propane bottles, kerosene and
gas containers -some with fuel remaining inside, plastics and other household
items. Prior to his death Mr. McMaster had limited control of bodily
functions and the shack contained diapers, urine and excrement.

2016-2017 Blue dye poured in Walker’s pond running into our ecologically balanced system.
• This dye introduced into ponds with naturalized systems kill plants that are
valuable as food and cover for aquatic species and serve as part of the
aquascape. It is unsightly in a natural setting. And we were very upset that it
was being introduced to the natural waterway.
• On several occasions, Joe addressed our concerns about the dye to Mr.
Walker. He said that his wife was adding the dye when he was out of town,
or without his knowledge. (As a foreman for an electrical contractor Mr.
Walker is scheduled to be out of town often -usually 4-5 days at a time).
• Joe attempted to educate Mr. Walker about why this was inappropriate to do
in a waterway with outflow (aesthetically affecting our property) -and- how
this was averse to the health of our pond by causing the roots of the aquatic
plants we had deliberately populated. (waterlil ies, lotus, iris, and reeds).
• Dye was added to the ecosystem 6-8 times between 2016-2017 before the
pond on the Walkers property was drained during the culling of the trees in
2018.

Early
January
2018
Jody Walker contracted with Frank Rash (who owns a logging company-- from Ashe
County) to harvest the trees on the empty lot and a significant percentage of the
trees on the lot with his home.
• The loggers removed trees that could be sold as lumber
• Unviable for timber, the remains of the cutting including un derbrush,
treetops, limbs, and shrubs were bulldozed. Some burned, some
immediately buried. The dozer work exposed dirt rock and clay that was left
exposed.
• Mr. Walker did offer us firewood from the culled piles to help lessen the
amount to be disposed of; Joe did cut and remove some of that wood.


27

• We also had a small number of trees culled from our property at that time, so
Joe did not take all the felled trees Mr. Walker would have liked him to
remove.
• During that process Joe discussed our concerns with how the clearing would
effect run-off and compromise our pond and property.

Additionally: A bulldozer operator trained and certified by the NC DEQ advised Mr.
Walker that he could not (legally) do what he was doing:

• Fill in a natural wetland area
• Cover a naturally existing watercourse
• Bury burned and unburned vegetation without regard for drainage, runoff,
and downstream effects.
• Collapse and bury a structure containing hazardous materials
• Over the course of a few weeks, the dozer operator left the machine on site
and Mr. Walker -after having been warned and advised of the environmental
and possible code violations continued to remove, burn, and bury, and
regrade the lots.
• An un-natural steep drop-off was created at the edge of the property and no
effort was made to inhibit erosion.

Mr. Walker was also told repeatedly that what he was doing would cause
downstream issues specifically regarding our property and pond.

Feb 2018 Mr. Walker hired Joe’s son to work on his crew for LineTech Services, an electrical
contractor for power transmission lines. Mr. Walker is a foreman.

March
2018
Mr. Walker hired Joe (my husband) to his crew at LineTech.
Spring
2018

Spring
2018
continued
Joe discussed with Jody Walker, on several occasions, the nee d to mitigate the run-off
from his now clear-cut and dirt filled lot. Mr. Walkers response was always that he
was:
• Working on it
• Going to take care of it
• “Gonna get that, Dog”

After several significant rainfalls the runoff has proved to have negative impact on
our property.
Mr. Walker brought home 5-6 large coir wattles, silt fence, and posts (from his
employers’ jobsite). He allowed Joe and Joe’s son to drag the wattles to the edge of
the Walker property and erect the sit fence and posts to try to stop the runoff from
coming down stream. Mr. Walker did not assist in the placement of the silt fence or
wattles to stop the silt from leaving his property, instead leaving that for Joe to
handle. (Mr. Walker’s repeated choices not to help us mitigate the ongoing,
progressive damages to our property indicated to us that he had no interest in
resolving the issue, felt no responsibility to do so, and no intention to correct the
underlying problems).

28

In fact: most weeks Mr. Walker would pick Joe and his son up for work on Sunday
evening or Monday morning and they would l eave from our home for 4-5 days and
return. Joe would take those opportunities, while Mr. Walker was in our driveway, to
point-out the increasing damage to the property and ask Mr. Walker about repairs to
our pond and measures to stop the mud and silt from traveling downstream from his
acre+ of still exposed dirt upstream of our property.

Mr. Walker proffered promises that he was bringing in gravel, that he had dozer and
backhoe operators coming ‘soon’ and that he would fix what had happened to our
property.

Summer
2018

By early summer we saw a marked difference in the turbidity of the water in the
pond. The visibility became greatly reduced. Evenings when we are home we
normally spend on a small floating dock, feeding our fish, watching the deer, and
spending time together. Having our property slowly destroyed was making that less
enjoyable.
• By midsummer a large ‘sand bar’ was forming in front of the inlet that
connects our silt pond to the main pond.
• The silt pond was reaching its limits and eventually could not handle the
sediment flows at all during rainstorms, so debris was flowing directly into
the pond every time it rained.
• Joe manually dug out some of the heavy sediment, silt and stone, from the
silt pond to create a higher, berm-like barrier at the extension we had made
to the silt pond, trying to mitigate the amount of water that was topping the
silt pond. The inflow of water over the full silt retention area began to cause
the perimeter of the yard to sink and move toward the pond’s edge.
• During a heavy summer rainstorm while Joe was out of town, I became
particularly concerned about shallow areas that were forming and stranding
fish where predators were easily feeding on them. I purchased posts and silt
fence myself; I waded into the pond to try to mitigate those losses, and to try
to stop some of the increasing sediment from flowing directly into and filling
the pond. I was now able to stand knee deep in places where I had not been
able to touch bottom a few years prior.

Fall /
Winter
2018 –
January
2019
Joe continued to ask Mr. Walker about when he would handle the repairs needed on
our pond. He frequently reminded him that we expected the cost to be well over
$10,000 (at that point).

We began contacting contractors who would hydraulically dredge the pond, empty
the silt pond and repair the banks that were falling. We ran in to resistance and had
several non-returned calls when companies 1.) found out where the pond is located
2.) determined this was a residential job and, 3.) determined that this is a “sma ll” job.
We found that many companies with the proper equipment are either located on the
coast or in metropolitan areas and primarily work for businesses, municip alities, or
HOA’s, where they (likely) have contracts or proof of funds in reserve. In one
instance we were told they would require 100% OF THE PAYMENT UP FRONT because
it is a residential job.

29

Spring
2019
I began researching what legal remedies we could use to compel the Walkers to
repair the damages.

The mountain stream that runs along our road goes through the Walker property and
ours, then leaves our pond to run eventually connect to Little Gap Creek. Little Gap
Creek is a state designated trout water and therefor protected. All connected waters
automatically receive trout water protections. That’s when I discovered that our
pond, and the entire waterway connecting to Little Gap Creek qualifies for special
protections under the law.

The clear-cutting of trees adjacent to mountain trout waters is prohibited without a
permit and a remediation plan for waterway banks to be stabilized.

It is worth noting that in his job as a foreman with LineTech, and a contractor for
Duke Energy, Jody Walker deals with environmental protections on a regular basis.
The installation of electrical transmission lines is governed by strict environmental
protections. In my husband’s firsthand experience working on Jody Walker’s crew
for a year, environmental specialists were on site for nearly every job his crew
worked on, sometimes daily. Mr. Walker is not unfamiliar with regulations being in
place to safeguard the environment. AND Mr. Walker was present during some of the
conversations Joe had with those specialists about the erosion and sediment being
discharged into our pond.

May 2019 Joe sought out another employer, anticipating that taking the next step would make
working with Mr. Walker difficult. Joe left LineTech and began working for another
electrical company, Davis H. Elliott Construction.

I contacted the Winston-Salem regional office for NC Department of Environmental
Quality and discussed our circumstances with Tim Latham, a Senior Environmental
Specialist.

Mr. Latham had a vacation scheduled the following week but had Environmental
Specialist Tyler Pearson come to look at the affected properties the following Friday.
Tyler walked our property, the property between the Walker’s and ours, and
observed the Walkers property from the adjacent lot and the road. Tyler took
photos and brought them back for Tim. When Tim returned from his vacation (about
two weeks later) he came to our home to get more information based on Tyler’s visit.
He brought two Water Quality Specialists with him on that visit as he wanted them to
see the condition of the properties believing there could be regulations violations
covered by both Mineral and Land Resources statutes and Water Protections
statutes.

Mr. Latham advised that the state does not work quickly and that we would need to
be patient for any action on their part.

30

July 2019 Joe and I returned from a trip to the west coast on Wednesday, July 3.
Later that day on the Walker’s property there was a backhoe, rock, silt fence, and
other materials and the same dozer operator (who also works for LineTech) was
there.

That evening Joe got a lengthy text message from Robin Walker lamenting that I
should not have gone to the EPA (using a generic term, I suppose) without first
speaking to them. Robin Walker claimed in the message that she had the yard
scheduled to be seeded before Jody had a heart attack. (It seems obvious that mere
seeding was never going to stop the erosion happening from the destruction of the
wooded space where the stream originally ran through decades of natural banks and
woodland growth).

*Jody did not have a heart attack – he had a stint put in for blockage and returned home within a day or
two. He was re-hospitalized with chest pain for a day or two that proved to be nothing of concern. We
do not believe this statement is true. The backhoe on the property over the holiday weekend belongs to
LineTech, the company Mr. Walker works for.

The heavy equipment operator came down to our home ostensibly to speak with Joe.
He looked over our yard and ‘jokingly’ (?) asked if Joe wanted him to ‘fix’ the pond
and put it on the Walker’s bill. We don’t think that was sincere, and don’t believe
that a backhoe alone will fix the damages. Joe believes he was sent by Jody to look a t
the property and ‘report’ back.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

We have looked in to purchasing a hydraulic dredge system and what it would take to do the work ourselves.

*Small hydraulic dredges cause less disturbance to the natural surroundings usi ng a focused ‘dislodging’ rotating
cutter-head and a vacuum system to penetrate the silt and remove a higher percentage of s olids-to-water. The
material is pumped to a dewatering area (preferably into dewatering bags – but that ads to the cost significantly)
and later removed or spread out and seeded over, once the sediment is dried.

The dredge would be operated from a floating platform (we thought we could mount it to our existing floating
dock, unmoor the dock, and save the expense of a dedicated pla tform or pontoons).

With the use of a hydraulic system we will not have to remove the fish and other wildlife (and find a way to store
them – we have some native fish and a collection of ornamental koi), drain the pond, wait for dry out, and have
the basin bulldozed and the silt pond mechanically emptied. That method would also require haul away /
disbursement of much of the sediment, and likely cause significantly more damage to the existing edges of the
pond and all adjacent landscaping.

Further, because the sediment from Mr. Walker’s run-off is a rocky, sandy mix it would probably dry quickly, but
is not likely to be fertile or stable enough for seeding.

31

We have native turtles, several species of frogs and toads, two species (that we know of) of crayf ish, and many
other animals living in our pond. This year we have noticed a sharp decline in the frog and toad population. We
have also noticed color change in a koi that is considered by the koi industry to be an “indicator” fish – color
change from bright white to a light pinkish color indicates chemical composition change usually in nitrites and
oxygen levels. Unfortunately, we have never needed to test the water so have no baseline to scientifically test
against.

PHOTOS: May 27, 2017 NOTE that the water is clear in this picture; visibility was 21+ inches
32

BELOW PHOTO: MAY 27, 2017 Note both inlet pipes are running and there is no ‘sand -bar island’ The slope at the
inlet pipes was stable and had b een stable for 10 years.

33

PHOTO: Early Summer 2018 (taken from deck of house)

WATER is muddy, visiblility significantly diminshed, bank at the pipes was becoming unstable.

34

PHOTO: May 2019

35

NOTE: As the edges were becoming rapidly shallower, I added the open plastic fencing (in JULY of 2018 while Joe
was working on the coast and away for 2-3 weeks at a tme) in an attempt to deter wading birds (primarily heron)
from fishing for our koi. This picture also shows how the mud spreads across the water column after it rains.
PHOTOS: MAY 2019

36

Taken standing on the dock
as a rain shower started. NOTE: bank has
become unstable and has been ‘sliding into
the pond due to the ‘spread’ of water coming
through the wooded acreage between our
property and the Walker’s.

This photo was taken a few days later and illustrates th e
mud further encroaching into ou pond and mud covering lily
leaves, which inhibits photosynthesis and flowering and
causes leaves to prematurely rot. The silt basin has filled
and blocked the near pipe.

37

PHOTO JUNE 2019 Shows the mud ‘flowing’ on the far side of the pond (shortly after rain stopped).
Because the area in from of the spill way (inlet between our silt collection pond and the pond itself) is
now an ‘island’ that diverts the water path changes around these mud obstacles rather than having a
steady, center flow through the pond. The mud disperses when in the open and turns the water into
an opaque brown for days at time before settling. The settling mud has significantly filled in our onc e
much deeper pond. Marginal plants that were purchased and placed for aesthetic and ecological
balance have been choked out -OR- have starting moving inward as the floor of the pond comes up
(reducing the surface area and the beauty of the pond, and allo wing wading predators to easily catch
fish

38

PHOTO: April 2019
Depicts the stream flow into our silt pond. The stream bead had been a naturally ‘carved’ stream bed.
Now the stream bed is leveling out with the surrounding forested area and allows the water to easily
spread across and saturate the area. This is causing the water to erode our silt pond and causing our
yard to collapse. Some areas have dropped by 12” or more between January 2018 and June 2019.

39

PHOTOS: June 2019
Images taken from the property between the Walker’s property and ours. The FORMER ‘stream bed’
has been filled with silt and rocky debris from the Walker’s property. Heavy rains are spread the water
across the woodland floor. We believe this is contributing to the constant saturation that has caused
40

underground erosion affecting our land and causing our yard to ‘drop’ (drop in excess of 12” in less
than a year). This is progressing towards our home’s foundation.

↑ RED LINE = HORIZONTAL LEVEL FILLED WITH MUD. ↘ BLUE LINE = SIDE and slope OF BARRIER.

PHOTOS: June 2019 Taken at the boundary edge between the Walker’s property and the adjacent
property separating it from ours. The top photo shows the silt fence that Jody Walker brought home
then allowed Joe to install at the edge of the Walker property to try to mitigate the runoff from his
41

clear cut and burial of trees and shack his empty lot. The lower phots shows how the runoff has
covered adjacent lot vegetation that may kill those stabilizing plans bordering former streams edge.

PHOTOS: June 2019 Photos again show different places on the silt fencing installed at the boundary
of the Walker’s lot, approximately 1 year after Joe was ‘allowed’ to put it up on Mr. Walker’s property.
The bottom fence photo shows how the rain and mud has come over the top of the stressed and
folding 3’ fabric and serves as a good visual of how much movement there has been in the unstable
42

pile of mud, rock, clay and dirt that covers burned and unburned trees and vegetation and the
collapsed and crushed shack Mr. McMaster lived in.