South Union takes steps to abate flooding issues in township neighborhood
SOUTH UNION TWP. — Supervisors will apply for $381,215 in grant funding from the state for storm sewer improvements on upper and lower Ruble Drive and Wiggins Lane – a neighborhood that has persistent flooding issues due to antiquated stormwater infrastructure.
The grant through the Department of Conservation and Economic Development’s Small Water and Sewer Program would require a local match, but would fund the entire project, if secured. The resolution, approved unanimously on Wednesday, allows township supervisors to authorize the application for the grant, which is due in December.
Glenn Wolfe, a senior project manager with the EADS Group, brought conceptualized site plans for the project to the meeting for supervisors and members of the public to review. The plan for future stormwater improvements was also hand delivered by township representatives to residents in the affected area.
While the improvements, which call for the widening of stormwater pipes, will help with flooding issues, Wolfe said no system can be designed to mitigate damage from a storm like the one on July 21 which caused localized damage and which weather experts have called a “500-year storm.”
In addition, Supervisor Jason Scott announced that the township plans to install additional rain gauges in three locations within the township to monitor rainfall. The three new locations include the township building, Hutchinson Park, and Areford Park. There is already a gauge at the Route 21 pump station, near Springdale Golf Club.
“These additional gauges will provide us with more accurate data,” said Scott, who added that the totals will be read by a professional monitoring company.
In August a standing-room-only crowd of residents came to the supervisors meeting to voice concerns and frustrations over ongoing flooding issues. Many of the residents were from the Craig Meadows neighborhood, and said the July 21 storm, which dumped about 5 inches of rain in one hour, caused significant damage.
One resident of Wiggins Lane said damage from the July 21 rain left him and his family “homeless.”
At the time, supervisors said they’d spoken to engineers and county and state officials who said improvements could be made – but nothing would help with such extreme weather conditions.
In other related business, supervisors opened bids received for the Redstone Furnace Road/Brownfield Lane sanitary sewer line project. A total of seven bids were received ranging from $390,330 to $895,000. Ultimately, the supervisors unanimously decided to accept the $390,330 from Jet Jack Inc., of Oakdale, as the low bidder, contingent on the bid being reviewed and approved by township solicitor and engineer.
Supervisors also unanimously approved the township’s 2019 Community Development Block Grant application, which will be submitted to the state Department of Community and Economic Development ahead of a Nov. 1 deadline. The project selected after public hearings were held is another storm sewer improvement project on South Mount Vernon Extension.
The township’s share of CDBG funds for 2019 is $157,523, with $121,469 of that going to the actual project once administrative costs are deducted.
While CDBG funds federal, they are allocated through the state, said Andrew French, executive director of the county’s Redevelopment Authority, who attended the meeting to present the township’s CDBG funding selection.
While the program gives a broad description on the different types of eligible projects, the project must meet HUD national objectives, including benefitting low-to-moderate income residents or for the removal of slums and blight. To ensure the project is eligible, the redevelopment authority does door-to-door surveys of the proposed project neighborhood to confirm that 51% of the residents meet the criteria, French said.
South Union Township has primarily used their CDBG allocation towards infrastructure improvements.