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Struthers solves erosion problem at Judith Lane homes
STRUTHERS
Mary Katherine Brenner, 84, has been fighting the city for almost 50 years to fix an erosion problem in the backyards of Judith Lane homes.
During the past few decades, a stream that was once only 2 feet wide grew to 10 feet wide, eating away at residents’ backyards. “When we first got here, we thought it was fine,” Brenner said. “But then it kept getting bigger and bigger, and my yard kept getting smaller and smaller.”
Brenner said the stream grew big enough for kids to ride inner tubes down it and for residents to build bridges across it.
The city has begun construction at homes affected by the stream. Gary Diorio, project manager with MS Consultants and city engineer for Struthers, said he estimates the work will be done by the end of this week.
Struthers has been working on the erosion problems on Judith Lane since 2009.
“The whole objective is to create a better channel for rainwater to flow across the street so it doesn’t ruin the residents’ yards,” Diorio said.
The city installed piping, water-quality detention ponds and a box culvert in the area for phase one of the project in 2009. Diorio said the city is placing geo-textile fabric and a rock bed in the stream to stall the erosion during heavy rain for phase two of the project.
Mayor Terry Stocker said phase two cost $83,000 with 69 percent of the money coming from a grant and 31 percent coming from the city’s stormwater program funds. He said phase one cost about $200,000 to install a 4-foot-by-7-foot box culvert in the street that measures 150 feet long.
Stocker said the city took out an Ohio Water Authority Development loan to fund phase one, which he said won’t be paid off until about 2030.
Stocker said the initial phase helped prevent flooding downstream. He said a lack of money prevented the city from extending the work through phase two as originally planned.
Diorio said the city received a grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission earlier this year to finish phase two of the project.
Mary Jane Penman, 76, a Judith Lane resident, said she and her husband have been waiting 35 years to see the stream fixed.
“When it rains real bad, we get a lot of flooding in the yard, so we’re happy they’re doing this,” Penman said.
Both Penman and Brenner said they are waiting to see how the rocks will withstand the next big rainstorm.