Sullivan Run water control project aims to limit floods water depth by 5 feet
The $4 million Sullivan Run Flood Control project in Butler is designed to allow stormwater runoff to flow faster by removing obstructions in the creek bed and reduce the depth of flood water by 5 feet.
The city is in the process of finalizing the last right of way agreements for the project. The state Department of Environmental Protection will advertise for bids after the agreements are in place. Work is scheduled to begin in the spring.
The project has been in various planning stages for years and predates a heavy storm in July 2017 that flooded homes and businesses in the West Side after flood debris clogged passage ways under bridges and through culverts.
Replacing three bridges with culverts, removing a side-by-side corrugated metal pipe culvert and adding two more sections of concrete U channels are the key features of the flood control project.
The DEP is handling the bidding for the entire project, but the city is paying for the West Penn and West Brady street culverts, said Joe Gray, city engineer.
Doug Hill, project development chief for the DEP bureau of waterways engineering, said the concrete U channels and the new culverts will allow water to flow faster with less obstruction, but won’t stop sediment from building up or debris from getting washed down the creek.
“It will require some maintenance by the municipality. You can’t eliminate sedimentation. You can’t eliminate floatable debris,” Hill said.
The DEP will inspect the project every other year after it is completed, he added.
Find out what changes are happening to Sullivan Run in Friday’s Butler Eagle.
