Flood and Newts have kept couple out of their home
March 27th 2008 by Kelly in Real Estate
A blocked drainage ditch caused flooding to John and Margie Histed million dollar residence. The couple spent the past 8 months and $250,000 on renovations to their estate only to have it flooded again since the drainage ditch cannot be fixed. The Histed’s learned after the original flood that newts possibly infested their drainage ditch. State law prohibits them from fixing the drainage ditch until the water can be combed through by hand to search for the creatures. The 3 inch long newts are possibly breeding right now and the state is protecting the ditch from being surveyed until after the eggs hatch. The Histeds will not be able to start the renovation process again for 3 months until the survey for the newts can take place. The great crested newt is protected by EU law and the Wildlife and Countryside Act. The environmental agency shut down a bridge in Earl Shilton, Leicestershire that cost an estimated 1.7 million dollars to protect a single newt. I had no idea we would go to such lengths to protect newts.
Couldn’t they drain the ditch, find the newt, and rescue it to a safer place?
April 1st, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Newts are awesome! I used to have a couple of them as pets when I was a kid. They are passive defenseless creatures and deserve protection.