‘Grassy hole with mud’: Lake Louise residents hit a wall after water is drained, say owners won’t fix it

POWHATAN COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Residents of the Red Lane subdivision in Powhatan County are stuck in the mud. Those living around Lake Louise don’t recognize their backyards after they say the owners of the lake neglected it. 

Residents said the lake went down about 15 feet after a bad storm in February took out the drain culvert. The owners then drained whatever water was left. 

The tax delinquent lake was bought by Debra and James Reynolds for $2,500 at an auction in 2018. 

The Reynolds, who live in Powhatan but not in the subdivision, declined to talk to 8News for this story.

Residents also said the lake's current state is not just an eyesore, but is decreasing their property value. 

“I caught my first fish here; my son caught his first fish here," James Mullins, who moved to Lake Louise in 1985 when he was four years old, told 8News.

“It was a no brainer once we saw the lake," said Teri Allanson, who moved to the lake 14 years ago. "It was absolutely stunning.” 

Generations of Lake Louise families have jumped off docks on hot summer days and escaped into a winter wonderland in the cold months.  

“Now it’s just a grassy hole with mud," Allanson said.

With two daughters under the age of three, Grace Davis thought moving to the lake four years ago was the best move for her family.

“Now it makes you just not even want to go on your back porch," she said. “We expected to have our forever home. It’s now getting questioned.” 

All the fish died when the lake drained, leaving what residents said was a rancid smell, forcing them to move all outdoor activities indoors over the summer. They're also concerned about potential sinkholes, and want water in the lake as an extra resource in the case of a fire. The lake is creek-fed so there will always be some water in it.

But the financial risk is the biggest worry for residents. They said their property values are down as much as 30%.

“We would take quite a loss if we were to put our house up for sale today compared to a year ago," said Janet Newton, who's lived on the lake since 1985.

Residents bought their lots with recreational use deeds of the lake. This was and continues to be a huge draw. 

The Reynolds tried to get a street address assigned to the lake, but the county denied that request saying it's not eligible and can’t be built on at this time. 

According to Powhatan's parcel viewer, the property is now worth $54,000 dollars -- more than 21-times the amount the Reynolds paid in 2018, and a price the residents don’t want to cough up.  

This isn’t the first time the drain culvert has wreaked havoc on Lake Louise. 8News was at the lake in 2017 when the aged infrastructure gave in. No one owned the property at the time, so residents raised over $18,000 to fix it themselves.

Less than a decade later, they don't want to do that again and without the legal right to fix it anyway, residents are left confused why the owners won’t. 

“I think the hardest thing for us is knowing that the folks that do own the lake aren’t willing to work with us on that," Allanson said. "What's holding them back from working with us? We’re all team players. This is our neighborhood.” 

All that’s left is a puddle, the broken drain and memories.  

“I could still be making them, but, you know, the lake’s gone," said Corban Davis. He's lived near the lake since 1988 and has even helped maintain it. His four grandsons used to fish with him on the lake, something he said breaks his heart that he can't do it anymore.  

Right now, the residents aren’t sure how they’ll get their lake back.