West Deer Officials, PennDOT To Meet About Flooding, Drainage Problems
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Flood waters covered the parking lot at the shopping center along Little Deer Creek Road in Russellton, West Deer Township, on Thursday night.
Much of the water came up from underneath the roadway.
There was no place for the water to go, and emergency crews scrambled to move the water away from businesses as best they could.
On Friday, the cleanup continued. Geno Stello, who spent most of last night trying to make sure he could open his pizza shop today, says he's lucky it wasn't a lot worse.
"A lot of water," said Stello. "A lot of water coming in from the side of the building across the parking lot into the back door."
KDKA's Harold Hayes: "What did you have to do to try to salvage things?"
Stello: "Just kept bailing until it was too much, and then we barricaded the back room so that the water wouldn't go into the restaurant."
Stello says the last time it was like this in West Deer was after Hurricane Ivan in 2004.
Even though Little Deer Creek was running fast today, that wasn't what caused the damage last night.
West Deer Township Manager Dan Mator says the overflow from the lakes at Deer Lakes Park drain onto state-maintained roads, and that roadway drainage system isn't adequate.
Meanwhile, West Deer wasn't alone with water problems. A car had to be towed along Bull Creek in Fawn Township after stalling in rising water.
West Deer officials plan to meet with PennDOT to address the drainage problem on Monday.
RELATED LINKS:
Heavy Rains Cause Flooding In Parts Of Area (8/8/13)
More West Deer News
More Reports by Harold Hayes
