Disaster Strikes Again

Every fall, Barbara and I are on Storm Drain Watch. All the falling leaves can clog up the storm drain outside our house and water will flow down the hill, washing away all the plants, top soil, stones on the path and eventually clogging a bunch of mud around the water heater. This kills the pilot light and it usually takes a few days before it dries enough to light again, so we have no hot water. We have tried building a run-off drain on the side of the storm drain, but the water is so strong it washed out the sides and still went under the house. We have tried to build a dam to sop the leaves from getting to the drain and that created a huge swimming pool in the front yard, that eventually went down the hill too. This is getting to be a serious problem now that it's happening in the spring as well as the fall. We need to find a permanent solution or get a new house. It is no fun having to go to work to take a shower.