Water damage in Lake Lotawana
Lake Lotawana is a private lake community east of Lee's Summit with about 2,300 residents. The dam went in back in 1929, and drought kept the lake from filling all the way until 1935. The lake covers around 600 acres with roughly 27 miles of shoreline, and the Lake Lotawana Association owns the lake and common areas.
The housing is unlike anywhere else nearby. Many of the original homes were summer log cabins, and over the decades a lot of them were added onto, winterized and turned into year-round houses. Mixed in now are large new lake homes with walkout lower levels facing the water. Streets are short and lettered, and many lots slope steeply toward the shore.
Most water damage here traces back to those slopes and those older cabins. Walkout basements on the lakeside face water running downhill toward them in every storm. Older cabins that were winterized later may have plumbing in crawlspaces, exterior walls or additions that were never insulated well, which makes them prone to frozen pipes. Some homes also sit empty for stretches as second homes, and a leak can run for days before anyone notices.
If you own a lake home you don't visit in winter, shut the water off at the main or keep the heat at 55 or higher, and have a neighbor check on it after hard freezes.
Crews come out from Lee's Summit and Blue Springs. Give the person on the call your street letter and house number, and mention if the house has gate or access instructions.