BATON ROUGE - A homeowner and her son contacted 2 On Your Side about a water issue they're experiencing.

Friday morning, the city inspected the property around the home and learned that the problem is not in the public right-of-way. 

Brenda and her son Lawrence say there's so much water in the backyard that it's saturating the wooden fence and making it impossible to mow the grass. Brenda's grandchildren haven't been able to play because of the mud.

"They have a big trampoline they can't get back there to use," said Lawrence.

The problem is happening at their family home on Wayne Drive in Baton Rouge. It started about two months ago and hasn't let up. The excessive water is causing Brenda's home to sink.

"There's a lot of water coming from back there, a lot of debris blocking this way where the water is supposed to go," said Lawrence.

Behind Brenda's home is a narrow strip of property separating her house from Fairwood Apartments. A few houses down, beginning at Yaun Drive, there's an open ditch near a church, which is currently dry. 

Photos taken by the city show a large accumulation of trash and debris forming a dam between the homes and the apartments. It's become a dumping ground.

The city says it's the responsibility of the adjacent private owners to keep this area clear. It doesn't explain where the water is coming from.

Friday morning, a man was walking to the apartments. He told 2 On Your Side he's been living in one of the apartments for about a year. There is no electricity and no running water, but the man explained that if they need it, they know how to get it.

Lawrence says the apartment complex has been in a state of disrepair for months. There are broken windows and missing doors. Lawrence says his mom often hears gunshots at all hours of the night. 

According to court records, the owner, Baton Rouge Portfolio, LLC, defaulted on a $3.9 million loan in 2023, which has ballooned to almost $7 million. Within the past month, another company purchased the property in a tax sale. The city is aware of the condition of the property and is actively working to get it under control. 

"We're hoping somebody can come look into it because we need a change around here.

The Baton Rouge Water Company visited the area to look for water leaks on Friday afternoon. They will continue their investigation on Monday. 

The city says it will coordinate with blight and code enforcement about all the trash along the property's fence line and says any obstruction affecting the public ditch will be addressed. Fairwood Apartments has been before Blight Court previously.