Flooding Issues Resurface at Scott Township Meeting

A decades-old flooding problem in a Scott Township neighborhood resurfaced during Tuesday’s commissioners’ meeting.

Residents from Berkwood Drive, Elmbrook Lane and several other streets throughout the township packed the meeting room to discuss flooding that resulted from the July 10 storms.

Some told commissioners that despite their best efforts over the years to control the water themselves, they’ve reached an impasse and need help from the township.

“I can’t fix it,” said Dennis Moorcroft of Berkwood Drive. “If I could fix it myself, I would do it. It’s too much. Something has to be done.”

Moorcroft said a retaining wall he installed on his property to control runoff collapsed during the July 10 storms. He estimated he's spent $14,000 to control water on his property, and said it’s time for the township to install a storm sewer on his side of the road.

Residents echoed similar problems on their properties, some dating back to the 1960s.

Melissa and David Rohm, along with their neighbors from Elmbrook Lane, said family living in the area reported flooding problems to the township in 1966.

Neighbors have built gardens and strategically planted trees on their properties to hold back water runoff, but they said their own efforts aren’t helping and they’re now concerned about mold and other damage.

Another group of residents praised the Bower Hill Fire Department and the commissioners who’d visited their property. They said they love Scott Township, but they just can’t take the flooding anymore.

Most who spoke told commissioners they also were struggling to receive help from their insurance companies, which considered the issue a water runoff problem rather than a flooding problem and, as such, not eligible for coverage.

All agreed on one thing: it’s time for action in the form of more storm water drains and general drainage improvements throughout the township. Anything, residents said, to avoid another round of crippling property damage.

Commissioners already have seen some of the damage residents reported and, as Commissioner Tom Castello said, residents like Moorcroft already have done everything they can to address the problem themselves. He said commissioners planned to continue reviewing problems with the township engineer.

Commissioner David Calabria said he’d already been to several properties, including the area near Elmbrook that might be the source of one runoff problem.

“I can sympathize with these folks because I’m on the low end of the sanitary sewers,” he said. “My own basement was ruined with raw sewage and I’ve had to throw away carpets.”

Castello said he didn’t have any answers for the community Tuesday night, but that the commissioners would continue reviewing the most-affected areas.

All of the addresses of people who spoke at the meeting would be submitted to the township’s sewer committee, he said. Additionally, the township engineer plans to meet with the commissioners whose wards were most affected to review all problems in their areas.