DENHAM SPRINGS — Residents living behind the Hunter's Ridge Subdivision in Livingston Parish say new homes being built nearby are sending floodwater onto their properties every time it rains heavily.

James Grace, who has a farm and home on Joe May Road, says his yard rarely flooded during the eight years he has lived there. That changed recently when homes started going up on ground several feet higher than his property, creating a slope that directs water toward his yard.

"A year ago this was flat farmland. Horses were out here running around. Now eight months later, we've got 15 new homes. I never in my wildest dreams imagined me looking out here from the arena and seeing homes four feet above me," Grace said.

His property includes a barn with horses, donkeys and other animals, along with a fenced-in dirt area where his horses run. He shared videos showing multiple instances over the last several months where less than an hour of rain flooded his yard.

"I've spent hundreds of dollars bringing in sand and good dirt for the horses in the arena and it just washed all out," Grace said.

Grace says the area did flood in 2016, but had not seen significant water since then until the new construction began.

"The property did get about six inches in 2016, but this whole area flooded. It hadn't had any significant amounts of water since then, but every time it now rains two to three inches in an hour, this whole back area is covered in water," Grace said.

He has notified the parish and says his councilman has been working with him on the issue.

"My Councilman John Mangus has done a fantastic job working with me. He's helped get the ball rolling on getting ditches cleaned out," Grace said. "I've seen the progress on the road, but he wasn't elected when this was going through planning."

In the meantime, Grace says he has been forced to build his own small barrier of grass and roots along his fence line to hold back the water.

WBRZ spoke with Parish President Randy Delatte, who said the homes are required to be built at that height.

"I know there's a requirement in building new homes at that height and that's a FEMA requirement. If you don't do that, then if you have a disaster, you cannot receive FEMA money," Delatte said.

Delatte also addressed what the parish is doing to help residents along Joe May Road.

"We actually did a master drainage plan, so we don't have to say that Joe May Road is more important than the next road and the reason is when you remove water from one area, you've got to put it in another area. So if you compound that mistake, then you're not doing anybody a service," Delatte said.

Grace says he does not blame DSLD Homes, the builder behind the Hunter's Ridge subdivision, saying the company is following the rules it was given. WBRZ reached out to a DSLD representative but has not heard back.