Donna Statzer, of Zelienople, states her concern about how new developments in the surrounding areas might have an impact on flooding in her community at a Zelienople public hearing on Monday, April 29. Zach Petroff/Butler Eagle

The flooding situation in the southwest corner of the county is not new, but a recent double whammy of floods was understandably upsetting to residents of Zelienople.

Jim Hulings said while he’s not a big “climate change” person, he is concerned about the recent “waterfall from the sky” in the community.

“Over a 100-year period we had two or three floods leading up to 2004,” Hulings said. “Starting in 2004, we had 14 flooding events, not counting the most recent.”

From the loss of business at eateries to water damaged homes and vehicles, those flooding events cause a lot of expensive damage.

On Monday, Eagle staff writer Zach Petroff attended a meeting where borough leaders heard concerns from residents, and the leaders offered some insight on what is being done in pursuit of improvements for the future.

It was one of many meetings the Eagle has covered recently that included discussion of plans for the proposed Southwestern Butler County Stormwater Authority.

On April 18, Petroff was in Jackson Township when supervisors there voted to move forward as part of the authority, joining Evans City, which had voted for it earlier in the month.

Zelienople, Lancaster and Evans City are the other three municipalities that will make up the stormwater authority.

Members of the public at the Monday meeting expressed concern about the effect increased development in nearby municipalities has had on flooding in the area, which lead to the reminder of another, already-existing stormwater team.

Council president Mary Hess pointed out developers in the 10 municipalities that make up the Southwest Butler Stormwater Planning Commission are required to retain more water than what was originally allowed on the property by 10%, thus lowering risk for flooding.

Hess also said the borough does not have jurisdiction over other areas, which is why there has been an emphasis to partner with neighboring communities.

“Working together with these municipalities, we’ve been able to come together and figure out what exactly happens in our watersheds and where the sources of water have come,” Hess said. “And how we can retain it upstream to protect the individuals downstream.”

Whether increased development or climate change or another, as-yet-unknown source of bad weather and flooding is causing the woes of the southwest corner of the county, it’s good to know the municipalities are taking it seriously and are working together to find ways to prevent future damage.

— RJ