Federal money aimed at stopping Scottdale flooding
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When heavy rains arrive, residents in Scottdale’s West Park neighborhood brace for flooding.
“We have drainage up there but, when we get these rains, there’s no way they can handle it,” said Angelo Pallone, borough manager.
Stormwater contributes to flooding along Anderson Run, one of three Jacobs Creek tributaries that are the focus of a proposed federal study.
Although stormwater and flood control in the Jacobs Creek Watershed have been of perennial concern, the sub-watersheds of Anderson Run, Stauffer Run and Little Sherrick Run have been neglected, said Jim Pillsbury, hydraulic engineer at the Westmoreland Conservation District.
Flooding on the three streams causes enough home damage, property damage, road closures and washouts to get the attention of the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The agency announced last week it is releasing $1.9 million for flood prevention projects in four watersheds in Pennsylvania, including the Jacobs Creek Watershed. Although the scope of work is yet to be determined, the anticipated cost for Jacobs Creek is anywhere from $300,000 to $450,000, said NRCS spokeswoman Molly Rose.
The money will cover the first of three phases of the project, which is an engineering study to determine the nature, scope and causes of flooding there, Pillsbury said.
The other phases will involve the design of a solution and actual construction, which may be five years away, he said.
“Usually, the federal agencies don’t commit to a study unless they’re willing to do something about it,” Pillsbury said.
Pallone said he, too, was confident the project would be fully funded from the study phase to the construction phase.
“From what they told us, that money is already earmarked. We should be guaranteed to have the construction phase done. It’s good news,” he said.
Pallone said one of the main sources of flooding is stormwater runoff from areas around Scottdale that have been developed for housing or commercial purposes. For example, the former Wyndon Links Golf Course now has homes and asphalt that sends rain water down to Stauffer Run, which then floods, he said.
Because the three tributaries have their sources in East Huntingdon, the township is one of the project partners and may hold the key to the solution, Pallone said.
“In order to really help, the big thing was to get East Huntingdon to buy in and help us. It was a collaborative effort,” he said. “With heavy rains and that amount of water … you have to try to stop it at the source. They want you to seek out the source of the surface flooding and try to slow it down.”
Both East Huntingdon and Scottdale passed resolutions in support of the project, Pillsbury said. The Westmoreland Conservation District is the project coordinator.
Officials from all three entities met with NRCS officials last week to discuss the scope of the project.
In July, county commissioners approved the conservation district’s Integrated Water Resources Plan, a 217-page document that recommends ways for the county and local municipalities to better manage stormwater runoff.