Perry Township officials to address flooding problems
PERRY TWP. – While many in the area have been happy to see rains returning water tables to near normal levels, people living along Washington Run might have a different opinion. For them, the heavy rains of spring meant recurrent flooding.
So, township Supervisor A.J. Boni said he has been meeting with Perryopolis Borough officials as well as state Department of Environmental Protection representatives to see what can be done to correct the problem.
Officials are planning to work on roads affected by the flooding, including New Town Road, and then move on to Wickhaven.
In the meantime, the board submitted an application for worker assistance from the State Correctional Institution in Greensburg. If the township qualifies, the inmate workers will help to remove debris from Washington Run. Boni said the debris is the major cause of the flooding.
Township engineer Bruce Chambers said the recent meeting between township, borough and state officials was a promising start. Although the DEP is aware of the problems, Chambers said that a walk-through of the affected areas did a lot to enhance their awareness of how things have changed since their past visits.
A review of the stream shows that where it enters the borough, the piping is too small to accommodate the water flow, which causes the stream to back up into the township. When the water backs up, it tends to pond on the township side. Consequently, the water erodes large amounts of earth, said Chambers, and led to the collapse of a township road last year.
The local officials are waiting for the DEP to review the stream and come up with a list of suggestions.
“Whatever (the township and borough) decide to do, I think they will want to look at their options, which will include BMPs because of the involvement with DEP, and then plan together. Grants and who will apply will have to be determined later,” Chambers said.
BMPs, or best-management practices, involve ways of taking the floodwater and reintroducing it to the ground water system instead of merely piping it to local waterways and sending the problem downstream.
Chambers said another joint meeting is scheduled for late July, and he is hopeful the DEP’s suggestions will be ready before September.
At their recent meeting, the township supervisors also conducted the following business:
– Resident Pam Newmeyer reminded residents that she is forming a committee of township residents to begin plans for a community picnic next year.
Right now, she has a few people from Whitsett and Wickhaven willing to work on the committee and a list of volunteers, but she would like to see more interest from other areas of the township. Newmeyer said that while things are still in the planning phase, the idea is to host the picnic in a different community each year.
– Received a report from new code enforcement officer Mark Pasquale. In the past month, Pasquale responded to three different junk car complaints that resulted in the removal of six junked vehicles. He said he also issued a number of warnings for illegal burning.
– Announced they will not abandon a section of Saw Mill Road. The road has fallen into disrepair, but Boni said the township needs to maintain the road for the sake of 911 calls and for the township’s liquid fuels allocation. He agreed to have the road looked over and repairs started as soon as possible.