Whenever Vicksburg gets a heavy rain, Helen Hardges fears the worst.

Her home is one of four on Stadium Drive, north of Vicksburg High School, that are surrounded by water each time the city gets a deluge.

The homes are on lots that are about 3 feet below the street and in a natural slope for runoff draining from Drummond Street, which is east of the homes. Water stays in the yards after the rain, taking a day or more to drain.

“This is still left from the rain we had Monday and Tuesday,” Hardges said Thursday afternoon as she pointed at 3 to 4 inches of water standing in the backyard of her home at 1007 Stadium Drive.

She said the water rose to within 2 feet of her back porch.

Three of the homes on Stadium Drive, including Hardges’, were built by Habitat for Humanity in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Their slabs sit on 18-inch earthen mounds, or pads, creating small depressions around the homes that fill with water and virtually trap residents in their homes during hard rains.

“That water can get deep in there,” said Abraham Green, executive director for Habitat for Humanity of Warren County. “The people who live there can’t get out of their cars without stepping in water.

Hardges said she has to drive almost to her front door to avoid stepping into water when she leaves her car. One of her neighbors, she said, drives onto her porch.

“All the water flows my way,” said Annie Shelton, who lives at 1005 Stadium Drive. “When it rains, I either have to drive up to my door or park on the street.”

Grady Edwards Jr., who lives at 1001 Stadium Drive at Stadium and Loviza streets, has been there since 1974.

“We’ve always had water come through here during heavy rains, but it always drained off until they paved Loviza Street in the 1990s,” he said as he looked at about 6 inches of water covering part of his driveway.

When he moved into his home, he said, Loviza Street, which is adjacent to his property, was a dirt road “and the water just ran over it” to nearby Stouts Bayou to the west. After it was paved, he said, the street acted as a berm, preventing the water from draining efficiently.

Now, water sits in his yard for several days after a rain, transforming his yard into a marsh. Despite the high water, Edwards, Hardges and Shelton all said they have not had water in their homes.

Green, who became Habitat executive director in 2007, said the land was donated to Habitat by First Presbyterian Church before he took office. He said he saw standing water in Edwards’ driveway when he went to look at the property, which influenced contractors to elevate the foundations. High water, however, was never a problem while the land was being cleared or the homes were being built, he said.

“We realized the water was a problem after the homes were built,” he said. “We added more dirt to try and keep water from standing in the backyards, but if we had added any more, it would have just added to Mr. Edwards’ problem by sending more water to his house.”

Green said he has talked without success with Mayor Paul Winfield and Aldermen Michael Mayfield and Sid Beauman about the problems on Stadium Drive, adding the city officials have not agreed to help.

Interim city public works director Garnet Van Norman said a possible solution involves installing pipes under the yards with surface drains at intervals to remove the water, but he said other issues might make helping the residents difficult.

“If we had to do this to shore up a city street, it would be no problem,” he said. “But we’re talking about a problem on private property.”

That means getting rights of way, he said. It might also mean getting permission from the Vicksburg Warren County School District. He said Stadium Drive, which is the access to Vicksburg High School Stadium, is school district property.

And there is the cost. Beauman, who represents the area, said preliminary estimates for the project range from $25,000 to $40,000.

Winfield said he is aware of the problem on Stadium Drive, adding, “We’re looking into the legal aspects of what we can do.”

Getting rights of way is only part of the city’s legal concerns, Mayfield said.

“Once the work was done, we will assume all the liability for that area,” he said. “I don’t know if we would be willing to accept that.”

If rights of way are needed, Edwards and Hardges say they’re ready to give the easements.

“I love my home,” Hardges said. “But I don’t like thinking that one day I might be flooded out.”