Company admits to pumping water onto flooded street; metro man says it’s flooded his property, too

OKLAHOMA CITY - A man’s property is underwater and he claims the source of the problem is coming from a construction company across the street.

The site is owned by Haskell Lemon Construction.

The owner, Jay Lemon, has been pleading with the city engineer to help with the flooding issue in SW Oklahoma City, but his neighbor, Toby Bogart, says Lemon is the real problem.

"They have no regards for anybody else down here,” Bogart said. “That’s the problem."

For Toby Bogard, when it rains, it pours.

He tells News 4 three feet of standing water did not come from the sky.

"What water they have in there, they decided to get a three-inch pump for,” Bogart said. “They turned it off but right there it’s been running all day."

Bogard says the rushing river on and near his property at 149th and MacArthur comes from a hose used in a project across the street.

Bogard tried creating barriers out of mud but no luck.

He adds this burden is damaging the roads, clogging up his home business, and causing a hazard.

His mother’s car even was swept away by the high water.

“I have my own company and I can’t get any of my vehicles in,” Bogart said. “It’s pretty much is shutting down my company.”

News 4 spoke with the owner of Haskell Lemon, Jay Lemon.

During the conversation, there was a shocking confession.

“We were,” Lemon said. “We were pumping water off of our property for a couple of hours into a flooded street.”

And then…

“I would love to retract that,” Lemon said.

Lemon said he has since turned the hose off but claims the real problems relies on the city not providing adequate drainage during heavy rains.

“I would love to think that you looked where the source of that water was coming from besides a two-inch hose,” Lemon said. “We would like to think of ourselves as good neighbors and good business people."

Now, these neighbors are treading lightly with one another.

“They don’t want to be flooded out,” Bogart said. “They want to get it away from them. They don’t care who it will cost. They just want it away from them.”

The city says they will continue to research the drainage problem and monitor the construction site.

The city also plans to improve and maintain the roads nearby.