Official says Valley needs storm water control plan

Flood warnings were issued Friday for the Mahoning and Ohio rivers.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- As the rain from remnants of Hurricane Ivan began tapering off late Friday, Mahoning County's emergency management director said the future emphasis must be on flood prevention, rather than on handling claims after flooding occurs.
"This is absolutely bordering on insanity to be paying out all this money in claims when we should be able to have access to the funds before the incident occurs," said Walter Duzzny, Mahoning County emergency management director.
"We just cannot afford to keep going through this," he said of repeated flooding.
To do that, a countywide, or possibly multicounty, storm water control plan is needed, he said.
He added that he has asked the Mahoning County commissioners to appoint a joint local government and private sector task force on storm water management.
Issues that need to be considered are land development, storm water rerouting and retention, and storm and sanitary sewers, he said.
After getting more than 400 calls concerning last week's flooding, Duzzny said his office received another 60 calls Friday, with most of Friday's calls related to flooded basements.
Many complaints came from people along state Route 165 and Western Reserve Road in Springfield, Beaver and Goshen townships.
However, he added, "Anywhere in the county that has a low-lying area has been flooded, and that's ranged anywhere from Lake Milton all the way through Lowellville."
Closed roads
In Columbiana County, which has been hard hit by several recent floods, a dispatcher for the sheriff's department said the East Liverpool and Wellsville areas had the worst flooding Friday. Logtown Road just outside Lisbon and all roads going in and out of Franklin Square were closed Friday evening, she added.
Other closed roads Friday evening were state Route 154 in Elkton and Lisbon Road north of Franklin Square, according to an Ohio State Highway Patrol dispatcher in Lisbon.
Because of high water, Ohio Department of Transportation officials were discouraging low-slung vehicles from using state Route 558 west of Franklin Square, she added.
According to the Trumbull County 911 center, closed roads were Salt Springs near McKees Lane in Weathersfield, Interstate 80 at the Hubbard exit, Drummond Road in Hubbard Township, state Route 169 near Emmett Street in Weathersfield, Niles-Vienna Road south of state Route 82 in Vienna, and Smith-Stewart Road near Melbourne in Vienna.
In Mercer County, South Keel Ridge Road in Hermitage was closed Friday evening, a 911 supervisor said. Jamestown and Hermitage firefighters went with boats to rescue people from floodwaters in the Pittsburgh area, he said.
In Lawrence County, police asked some residents of Lakewood-Neshannock Falls Road in Hickory Township near Neshannock Creek to evacuate to higher ground.
Numerous roads in Lawrence County were closed, including the end of Sunrise Drive in Neshannock Township; the south end of Mohawk School Road; and Valley View Road south of state Route 208.
Games postponed
Because of the weather, several high school football games were postponed from Friday evening to today. Niles at Steubenville will be at 12:30 p.m.; East Palestine at United will be at 2 p.m.; and Lakeview at Girard will be at 7:30 p.m.
The Mahoning River was projected to crest 21/2 feet above flood stage at Leavittsburg and 5 feet above flood stage at Youngstown on Friday evening.
The Ohio River was to rise above flood stage this morning at East Liverpool and Wellsville, cresting early Sunday 2.7 feet above flood stage at East Liverpool and 3.8 feet above flood stage at Wellsville, and dropping below flood stage Sunday evening.
Duzzny also announced that federal and state emergency management agency officials would meet with Mahoning County's local government leaders at 1 p.m. Wednesday in Boardman Township Hall.
The purpose is to discuss this month's flood damage in local jurisdictions and develop an initial damage assessment. Local officials were urged to bring photos, damage estimates and estimated recovery costs.
In Mill Creek Park, two hiking trails were closed Friday in the Lake Newport area, and a portion of Calvary Run Drive was barricaded near the Lake Glacier boat dock due to high water.
Yellow Creek was staying well below the 4-foot-high wall of 2,000 sandbags that was erected around Poland library earlier this week by library maintenance and Community Corrections Association workers as a precaution, Janet Loew, library communications and public relations director, said Friday.