Oakmont obtains grant for flood mitigation
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Flood mitigation projects designed to help the Oakmont Commons housing development and nearby parts of the borough are closer to fruition due to grant funding.
Oakmont officials announced they recently obtained a little less than $290,000 from the state Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) to address the flooding issues in the Plum Creek watershed. The borough applied for the grant last summer.
Council President Patricia Friday said there is still more work to be done.
“We needed some engineering work done to be able to apply for the grant, (such as) the scope of work and some of the specifics,” she said. “Now that we got the grant approved, the engineers need to work the specs out exactly and get the documents prepared so we can go out for bid.”
Senate Engineering submitted plans and models last year to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for review to determine the next course of action in alleviating the concerns of dozens of residents impacted by floods in July 2019.
The Commons was among several parts of Allegheny County devastated by those heavy storms.
Borough Manager Scot Fodi said the grant was approved in large part because of the efforts of former state Rep. Frank Dermody, as well as the continued support from former Oakmont Councilwoman Carrie Lewis DelRosso, who defeated Dermody for her new state seat in last November’s election.
“His staff followed our application after we submitted, keeping an open line of communication between the DCED and the borough through the entire process,” Fodi said.
4 projects planned
Proposed mitigation efforts include four projects.
• The first would reestablish the elevation of the abandoned railway bed that separates the Commons housing plan from Plum Creek.
Fodi said that would create a permanent barrier behind the residences closest to the creek.
• The second project involves a stormwater dissipation channel running from Crystal Drive to a lowland area behind the Commons.
Fodi said that would stop water runoff from flowing freely into the Commons houses and instead collect it at the base of the hill once the project is complete.
• The third project would help create a more defined, low-lying area behind the housing development to collect the channeled water coming down the hillside.
• The final project includes installing backflow prevention on all storm sewers that empty into or connect with Plum Creek.
Fodi said the backflow prevention would keep Plum Creek from surging backwards through the storm sewers and back into the Commons.
“We’ve been doing a lot of work ahead of time,” Friday said. “Now we just need to do the finishing touches so we can get out to bid as soon as possible.”
The overall project is expected to cost between $300,000 to $350,000. Tha would make the borough’s cost between $10,000 and $60,000.
Fodi said there will be no bidding until the borough obtains permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Allegheny County Conservation District, as well as an agreement with DCED to start incurring reimbursable costs.
Oakmont already spent more than $40,000 in engineering and site surveying to get to this point.
Kelly Ligon, senior community manager for Rj Community Management which manages the Commons, said her board is aware of the grant and latest info. The firm declined to release a statement.