By Erica Solvig
The Cincinnati Enquirer

MASON - With every heavy rain, Villas at Pine Run residents say their yards flood and a small stream forms across their driveways and streets.

"We're worried about it coming right into our home," said Jerry Shipley, who said it flooded "four or five times" last summer alone. "Once it flows in, it's going to be all over everything because (the condo's) on a slab."

It's been a problem for the Golf Center at Kings Island and some other subdivisions in the Hoff Run watershed as well.

Now, the city is taking a hard look at the entire watershed, from Old Stitt Road to under Interstate 71 to the Little Miami River. City Council has approved a $71,000 contract with Bayer Becker Engineers to find solutions to potential flooding and downstream erosion and revise the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) floodplain for Hoff Run.

If changes are made without a study, City Engineer Richard Fair said the city does not know what the long-term effects might be.

"We want to fix it permanently," Fair said "We don't want to just take a stab at it and cause problems for someone downstream."

Residents say the problems have really gotten worse in the last couple of years.

During heavy rain, the culverts through the golf course are not able to take all the water, causing backyards and driveways to flood. So far, no flooding of buildings has been reported, Fair said.

But some residents think the study, which is not expected to be complete until mid-May, is going to be too little too late.

"All we've done is see proposals, we don't see anything happening," said Maurice Delk, who has lived at Villas at Pine Run for nearly five years. "What happens when the winter thaws and the spring rains come?"

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E-mail esolvig@enquirer.com