Several projects meant to reduce the possibility of catastrophic flooding have occurred in the decade since Ivan.
Hurricane Ivan was photographed as it entered the Gulf of Mexico in September 2004. NASA/JSC
(MCT) — When Hurricane Ivan dumped 7 inches of rain on the Alle-Kiski Valley, the waterways that often trickled unnoticed past roads and homes grew into torrents.
“Stormwater is one of the hottest environmental issues in the state,” said Rob Cronauer, a watershed specialist with the Westmoreland Conservation District. “It got no interest until the late 1990s.”
Several local projects meant to reduce the possibility of catastrophic flooding have occurred in the decade since Ivan.
In time for the hurricane's 10th anniversary, work to restore the banks of Bull Creek beneath the Tarentum Bridge was completed this summer, Borough Manager Bill Rossey said.
The $1.5 million project, funded by Allegheny County and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, followed earlier restoration work by the Army Corps of Engineers on an upstream portion of Bull Creek.
The Corps took on a dozen flood-control projects in Western Pennsylvania that involved federal property or facilities that once were federally owned, according to Neil Anderson, who was the Corps' project manager for Hurricane Ivan recovery in the Pittsburgh region.
Anderson said Hurricane Katrina relief in 2005 diverted funding from the Ivan projects and delayed them. But all of the regional projects were completed about five years ago.
Dredging sediment and debris from Bull Creek between Mill Street and Route 28 in Tarentum was the only Corps project in the A-K Valley. The Corps completed the $350,000 project in 2007.
“Generally, that's the kind of damages we saw — sediment, trees, silt, garbage, you name it — whatever could wash into the stream, Anderson said. “It was imperative that we remove that material to restore that capacity to keep waters flowing.
“None of these projects were designed to hold water,” Anderson cautioned. “They were designed to move water to a different place so these communities wouldn't flood.”
In New Kensington, a small portion of Little Pucketa Creek between Seventh Street and Route 366 was dredged about two years after Ivan. The state funded that $70,000 project.
PennDOT also has replaced the Route 366 and Seventh Street bridges over Little Pucketa since Ivan. Although the replacement projects weren't prompted by the flooding, the new bridges were designed to allow better flow for the creek below them.
Several bridges washed out by Ivan have been replaced, including the Monroe Road bridge over Little Buffalo Creek in Buffalo Township and the Copeland Road and Finnin Road bridges over Chartiers Creek in Allegheny Township.
Freeport Mayor Jim Swartz said he's hopeful the new Freeport Bridge configuration, which included replacing the Laneville bridge over Buffalo Creek, will help minimize future flooding in the borough.
About two years ago, the Westmoreland Conservation District completed several projects designed to improve the flow of Little Pucketa Creek in New Kensington and reduce flash flooding in Lower Burrell's Kinloch neighborhood.
In response to the creek flooding Valley High School property during Ivan, the conservation district installed a debris catch basin just upstream of the school and improved the creek channel to move water quickly past the school.
The district also installed a 400,000-gallon retention pond near East Ken Manor in New Kensington's Mt. Vernon neighborhood to slow stormwater that rushes over the hillside into Kinloch.
Next on the conservation district's project list is retrofitting three storm basins in Lower Burrell to slow the release of stormwater.
“We do not prevent flooding; we help reduce flooding,” Cronauer said. “No one stormwater control can make a big impact. But with multiple projects over multiple years, we hope to make a lasting impact. That's our approach.”
©2014 The Valley News-Dispatch (Tarentum, Pa.). Distributed by MCT Information Services.
“Stormwater is one of the hottest environmental issues in the state,” said Rob Cronauer, a watershed specialist with the Westmoreland Conservation District. “It got no interest until the late 1990s.”
Several local projects meant to reduce the possibility of catastrophic flooding have occurred in the decade since Ivan.
In time for the hurricane's 10th anniversary, work to restore the banks of Bull Creek beneath the Tarentum Bridge was completed this summer, Borough Manager Bill Rossey said.
The $1.5 million project, funded by Allegheny County and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, followed earlier restoration work by the Army Corps of Engineers on an upstream portion of Bull Creek.
The Corps took on a dozen flood-control projects in Western Pennsylvania that involved federal property or facilities that once were federally owned, according to Neil Anderson, who was the Corps' project manager for Hurricane Ivan recovery in the Pittsburgh region.
Anderson said Hurricane Katrina relief in 2005 diverted funding from the Ivan projects and delayed them. But all of the regional projects were completed about five years ago.
Dredging sediment and debris from Bull Creek between Mill Street and Route 28 in Tarentum was the only Corps project in the A-K Valley. The Corps completed the $350,000 project in 2007.
“Generally, that's the kind of damages we saw — sediment, trees, silt, garbage, you name it — whatever could wash into the stream, Anderson said. “It was imperative that we remove that material to restore that capacity to keep waters flowing.
“None of these projects were designed to hold water,” Anderson cautioned. “They were designed to move water to a different place so these communities wouldn't flood.”
In New Kensington, a small portion of Little Pucketa Creek between Seventh Street and Route 366 was dredged about two years after Ivan. The state funded that $70,000 project.
PennDOT also has replaced the Route 366 and Seventh Street bridges over Little Pucketa since Ivan. Although the replacement projects weren't prompted by the flooding, the new bridges were designed to allow better flow for the creek below them.
Several bridges washed out by Ivan have been replaced, including the Monroe Road bridge over Little Buffalo Creek in Buffalo Township and the Copeland Road and Finnin Road bridges over Chartiers Creek in Allegheny Township.
Freeport Mayor Jim Swartz said he's hopeful the new Freeport Bridge configuration, which included replacing the Laneville bridge over Buffalo Creek, will help minimize future flooding in the borough.
About two years ago, the Westmoreland Conservation District completed several projects designed to improve the flow of Little Pucketa Creek in New Kensington and reduce flash flooding in Lower Burrell's Kinloch neighborhood.
In response to the creek flooding Valley High School property during Ivan, the conservation district installed a debris catch basin just upstream of the school and improved the creek channel to move water quickly past the school.
The district also installed a 400,000-gallon retention pond near East Ken Manor in New Kensington's Mt. Vernon neighborhood to slow stormwater that rushes over the hillside into Kinloch.
Next on the conservation district's project list is retrofitting three storm basins in Lower Burrell to slow the release of stormwater.
“We do not prevent flooding; we help reduce flooding,” Cronauer said. “No one stormwater control can make a big impact. But with multiple projects over multiple years, we hope to make a lasting impact. That's our approach.”
©2014 The Valley News-Dispatch (Tarentum, Pa.). Distributed by MCT Information Services.
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