Published: Monday, April 2, 2007
Water woes frustrate residents
The township is working on the storm flooding problem, a trustee said.
By DENISE DICK
BOARDMAN — Mike Sprague of Holbrook Road makes pencil markings on his basement floor and walls to show the water damage.
He and his wife, Marilyn, have lived in the house for about four years and continue to experience flooding.
The worst moment came shortly after they moved in.
"I had all my tools in the basement and I had to get them all out," said Sprague, a carpenter.
The basement took on 13 inches of water, he said
"All of these houses get flooded," he said, indicating the rest of his street off Youngstown-Poland Road. "We're pretty much in a river."
Sprague believes the water is causing his basement walls to bow. He uses a straight-edge held against the wall to show the slant.
"While I'm dealing with all of this, I get my property tax bill," Sprague said.
He worries that the showers that typically fall on the Valley each spring will further the damage.
"The water comes down our street from Youngstown-Poland Road," Sprague said.
He has a sump pump but insists that storm sewers running beneath his street aren't large enough to carry the water from the street.
While he's complained to township officials and they've visited his home to check out the problem, Sprague doesn't think it's being addressed quickly enough.
Trustee's suggestion
Kathy Miller, trustee chairwoman, said creation of a detention pond on Lynn Avenue would alleviate some of the problem.
It's one of the projects on a list the township compiled a few years ago to curb flooding throughout the township. It's just an issue of cost, she said.
The project involves cooperation from Struthers and Youngstown. The detention pond is proposed on property that's in Youngstown.
The cost of the project hasn't been determined because engineering work hasn't been done on it, officials said.
Struthers Mayor Dan Mamula said he favors some kind of management in that area.
"We're downstream from everyone," he said.
His city has enacted stormwater management measures to try to deal with water flowing into Struthers from other communities including Youngstown and Boardman.
"We're trying to get together to sit down with Youngstown," Mamula said about the Lynn Avenue project.
Miller said that Youngstown has asked for more information, including velocity studies about the water flow.
"I think it would be an excellent regional project," Mamula said.
As a regional project, it may qualify for grants through the Ohio Public Works Commission, he said.
In the meantime, Sprague and his neighbors will have to sit tight.
Miller said she understands their frustration.
"I feel bad for them," she said.
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