Pa. Hires Army Engineers to Study Area Flash Flooding
Two Delaware County lawmakers are hoping a comprehensive study by the Army Corps of Engineers will help protect the waterways and water sheds in the Philadelphia suburbs and alleviate the amount of flash flooding that occurs from heavy rainstorms.
KYW's Brad Segall reports that this summer has been particularly bad especially in Delaware County, Pa. where heavy thunderstorms caused flash flooding leaving drivers stranded in their cars and homeowners with wet basements.
Congressman Joe Sestak and State Rep. Bryan Lentz have taken the lead on getting the study approved, saying uncontrolled development and inadequate storm water management are putting our rivers, creeks, and streams in jeopardy.
Left unchecked, Lentz says the results could be devastating:
"The cost of future damage if we don't come up with a program to maintain watershed integrity and reduce damage would be many times higher than the cost of doing this study."
That cost is about $500,000 -- a combination of federal and state money. The study, expected to begin in the next few weeks, will look at 13 water sheds in Delaware, Chester, and Montgomery counties covering more than 150 townships and boroughs.
