BOARDMAN County will try to ensure pond holds

Precautionary overflow measures will be taken.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- Heavy rainfall over the last few weeks has some township residents in the Indianola Road area asking questions and county officials making sure a retention pond there is up to the job.
Barry and Cheryl Brink's ranch home at the corner of Indianola Road and Cranberry Street, like many homes in Mahoning County, looked more like an island during heavy rain last month as it was surrounded by water on all sides. Barry Brink watched children floating on rafts in his back yard as the retention pond to the immediate rear of the house filled then overflowed with water.
With no basement, the Brinks and their immediate neighbors were spared some of the flooding experienced by other area residents. They say, however, that the pond has never before overflowed and they wonder if it might be because of the lack of trees and newly constructed homes to the rear of the pond.
Engineer's assertion
Tim Burkert, construction design engineer for Mahoning County, said the overflow should not be attributed to new construction but to the high volume of rain. He said the pond can accommodate a normal rainfall, but measures will be taken to handle any overflow.
"It is the opinion of this office that what happened was a result of the rain more than anything. That retention pond was not designed to handle rain from a 100-year storm," he said.
Burkert said the county will make sure the pond meets specifications submitted to his office. Those specifications, he said, should accommodate any future overflow of the pond and divert water away from the homes and down Indianola Road.
Drainage now
Right now the pond drains through a 24-inch pipe across Indianola Road and eventually into other systems in the Southern Boulevard area, said Gary Dawson, township road superintendent. The township, he said, did not want that pipe enlarged because that would dump too much water too quickly on areas such as Southern Boulevard.
Parts of Southern Boulevard were under knee-high, and in some spots waist-high, water in the latter days of July. Some residents' basement walls and foundations collapsed under the weight of the water.
Burkert said the retention pond will be enlarged in the near future to accommodate more water. Should the pond still overflow, he said, an emergency overflow system will also be installed to keep the water away from homes.
jgoodwin@vindy.com