Officials say solutions are coming for recent flash flooding
Butler officials have seen flash flooding drown low areas of the city after above average rainfall and say they are working toward both short-term and long-term solutions.
City engineer Joe Gray said the recent flash flooding has been concentrated in the lowest parts of the city, such as Elm Street, where he reported significant flooding with spillage onto Cunningham Street.
Gray aims to tweak the storm sewers and land grading to change the direction water flows. He said the stone culvert near Elm Street is around 150 years old.
“Unfortunately, the city is in a bowl and the water is going to get to the bottom of that bowl one way or another,” Gray said.
Flooding was reported Wednesday evening near Penn, Pillow, West Cunninghamand West Jefferson streets. The high water resulted in temporary road closures.
Similar flooding happened earlier this month on June 5, prompting the Butler County Water Rescue Team 300 to be requested at three flash flooding incidents following heavy rainfall nearby. The team was ultimately canceled or stood by for all three incidents.
“Short bursts of heavy rainfall… have overwhelmed our systems, but for anybody who has watched them in a short time, our systems have been able to remove the water,” said Troy Douthett, the city’s director of streets and public improvements. “We have not had any lasting flooding.”
Despite the lack of long-term flooding, Mayor Bob Dandoy has seen its immediate effect on businesses in the area. He plans to work with businesses to make repairs and come up with short-term solutions, including ways to seal water out and prevent losses.
“This is a lot (of water),” Dandoy said. “It’s a lot for any system to handle.”
Gray said the city has been working to address flooding for years. The Sullivan Run project in 2022 brought solutions to flooding around Brady Street and Dandoy is optimistic about flood mitigation going forward. He said money from the Butler Area Sewer Authority sale to Pennsylvania American Water in October has allowed the city to be less picky about which projects it funds.
Gray also said Connoquenessing Creek has not had any backwater flooding into the city or flooded over its banks close to the city, so more water could be directed there.
With adequate funding, Dandoy said the city is looking to address flooding all over, including further drainage improvements near Sullivan Run, Ritts Park and the bottom of the Jefferson Street hill. Funding from the sale will supplement the $25,000 the city budgeted for storm sewer repairs.
“A lot of the piping in the city is over 100 years old,” Gray said.
He said terra-cotta pipes tend to crack over time and that old piping is likely what’s under Cunningham, Chestnut and Jefferson streets.
Some of the pipes are also pressurized and too much water can bring in debris and clog or burst pipes.
Long-term plans also include adding storm sewers to Monroe and Franklin streets to intercept water flowing toward Elm Street. The city added a four-foot culvert on Monroe Street to intercept stormwater flowing from areas of higher elevation and plans to extend it further down the street.
Gray also wants to add storm sewers to Cedar Street to relieve the flooding affecting houses along the low point, and replace and repair piping on Cunningham Street.
“There’s a lot of work happening, it’s just going to take time,” Gray said.
Despite the repeated flash flooding, the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh reports only slightly above-average rainfall. The area has received 3/4 inch of rain above the June average through June 18 and about a quarter of an inch of rain above the May average, according to meteorologist Matt Brudy. The area has received about four-tenths of an inch above the average precipitation for the year, he said.
“I always tell people, it’s called the Butler valley for a reason,” Dandoy said.
Outside the city, Anne Jones on South Duffy Road said she had never seen water rushing through the street as it did on Wednesday. The creek bed on the edge of her property turned into raging waters, but she said the water dissipated within a couple hours.
