A Ditch Marked: Challenges in Applewood

Hi, Applewood neighbors—Greg here with an update on my irrigation lateral. I recently hired a pipeline inspection company to send a robot through my ditch pipeline and mark its surface path for a surveyor. When I checked one of the lime green survey marks on the concrete near my lateral, I found an unexpected message next to it: 'Small Penis Greg.'

What caught me off guard was how few people knew about these marks—or that they were for our ditch lateral. As far as I knew, only a couple of Cottages at Rolling Hills subdivision residents were aware, since the inspector had entered their backyards to place the marks for the surveyor’s work.

These same neighbors have been part of a ongoing challenge since moving into their homes. They’ve added retaining walls, fences, locked gates, and planted numerous trees on my lateral, all without my okay as a ditch owner. I’ve sent letters explaining my rights and asking the HOA and its members to keep the easement clear, but the response hasn’t been what I’d hoped.

Instead, they’ve limited access to our lateral and kept adding trees, making maintenance tough. The graffiti is the latest in a 16-month stretch of tensions that started in December 2023, when a Cottages resident approached me at my headgate, raising their voice with threats.

The mark and message showed up at my headgate along the Lee, Stewart, and Eskins Ditch—southeast corner of Kendrick Street and Juniper Court—a key spot for my lateral that’s been tricky with the HOA. I don’t know who left it, but its timing, right after the survey marks, stands out. If you’ve got any info, please reach out—I’d value the help.

Learn more at www.fixourditch.org, where over 65 neighbors have signed our petition to support this effort. Together, we can keep Applewood’s ditches working for us all.

Greg

Proud Applewood Resident

"Small penis Greg" written on Greg's fresh survey mark for this ditch lateral pipeline at the headgate located at the SE Corner of Kendrick St and Juniper Ct.