KINGSTON — It seems every time rain subsides and the Kingston High School site gets its water diverted into manageable streams and safely leveled detention ponds, Mother Nature strikes again with another surplus. And the school’s neighbors are feeling the effects of the excess water.

For the fourth time since late December, a detention pond at the southwest corner of the KHS site has flooded its man-made banks, through the buffer wood and into one of two ponds on Stuart and Mary Anderson’s property.

The pond at the west end of their property — which takes the brunt of the runoff — sustained its biggest surge Monday, coming within 17 feet of the Anderson’s house.

“These ponds take runoff for us and two other neighbors,” Stuart said.

Excess water from the school site, caused by a combination of last weekend’s downpour and a power outage, which shut down one of the regulating pumps at the school’s detention ponds, has been too much for the Anderson’s pond to handle. While it wasn’t the first time water has spilled beyond the school’s control, Monday’s flood was the worst yet, Mary said.

The southwest pond’s first breach was the result of a power outage Dec. 22, 2005. The electric pump was replaced by two diesel gasoline pumps to help bring the water to a sustainable level.

The pumps proved their worth, but another power outage coupled with the diesel pumps running out of gas prompted another flood Christmas Day. It was alleviated by Dec. 26.

Yet another flood occurred Jan. 10 when a power outage left just one pump working at the detention pond. The pump couldn’t keep up with the massive inflow, and the Anderson’s pond was inundated again.

The KHS site contractor Wick Constructors responded, returning the detention pond to its desired level. By Jan. 26, the Anderson’s ponds were stable, Stuart said.

Then came the latest flood, Monday, which was once again the result of a power outage.

“We’ve had challenges and the contractor is burdened,” Shoemaker said Jan. 26, reporting water problems to the school board.

“Everybody at Wick and (NKSD’s) Robin Shoemaker have been nothing but helpful, but we are fed up that no one has really taken responsibility,” Stuart said, noting that he feels it should be the county’s responsibility to step in to protect his property from the site runoff.

The county did issue a stop work order to concentrate the site’s construction strictly on erosion control and to quell stormwater issues. Canals and straw were put in place and the order was lifted when the site seemed to be under control Jan. 23, Kitsap County development engineering manager Jeff Rowe-Hornbaker said last week.

Shoemaker and Rowe-Hornbaker did not contact the Herald for comment by press time.