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Grant should ease Austintown’s flood woes
By Elise Franco
Austintown
Plans for additional storm- water lines should alleviate flooding issues in a portion of the township, said Administrator Michael Dockry.
Dockry said Austintown received a $150,000 grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission that will help fund the $179,000 project.
The township is responsible for the remaining $29,000.
Dockry said additional storm lines will be installed under the street along Pinecrest Avenue.
“The problem in this area is that water is basically coming in from the sanitary system, but it’s storm water,” he said. “The drain is in the middle of the roadway, which causes pooling in the middle of the street.”
Dockry said the new lines will act as a type of underground detention system.
“The lines, as well as additional catch basins, will alleviate water from pooling in the road,” he said.
He said the project, which the township plans to bid out in late 2012, also will include replacing the outlet pipe that runs from South Inglewood Avenue to a culvert under state Route 11.
Trustee David Ditzler said that during the past 15 years, the township has procured about $4 million in grant funding for flood- alleviation projects.
“This is one more step in the flooding projects that we’ve been working on for years,” he said. “In these parts of the township where the storm-water systems are outdated, they need upgraded.”
Ditzler said the trustees are aware of several areas in Austintown still in need of flood work, but it’s becoming more difficult to secure grant money.
“It gets tougher and tougher to do because the projects, in order for them to be funded, you have to show the in-home flooding and the number of homes impacted,” he said. “As the projects get narrower in scope, it gets harder to get them funded.”
Ditzler said the trustees don’t intend to give up, however, and will eventually find a way to fund the projects in-house, if necessary.
“We still have some areas that need addressed where there’s only a few homes impacted,” he said.
“But it’s just as important if it’s just your home or 100 homes.SDRq