Residents complain of storm drains' condition
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A storm drain in Shadyside at Ellsworth and Negley avenues looks almost completely clogged.
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As he bicycles on city streets, Jon Webb said, he sees a lot of clogged storm drains, so many in fact that he didn't know anybody had the job of cleaning them.
Leaves and branches obscure the openings, especially at the bottom of grades and around areas with trees, the Squirrel Hill resident said. Other drains look like they've been completely closed.
"Honestly, I just thought that's the way it was," Mr. Webb said.
The flash flood on Washington Boulevard that killed four people Aug. 19 has raised new questions about the state of the city's 30,000 catch basins, responsible for capturing runoff from the streets.
The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority inspected its infrastructure in the Negley Run Watershed, which includes the Washington Boulevard area, after a July 18 flood. "Nothing was clogged or broken," the agency said in a statement, attributing the Aug. 19 flood to the unusual volume of rainfall -- more than 2 inches in an hour -- rather than problems with its system.
However, storm drains remain a concern in parts of the city. In July, city Councilman Doug Shields called the authority a "failed" agency, partly because of clogged storm drains and other infrastructure problems.
On Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette observed clogged and sagging drains on some of the Shadyside streets that experienced flooding last week. Storm drains will be on the agenda at city Councilman Bill Peduto's community meeting on flooding, scheduled for 6 p.m. Sept. 6 at the Winchester Thurston School.
"I definitely think PWSA could do a better job of maintaining catch basins," city Councilman Patrick Dowd, an authority board member, said. But the problem isn't just about clogs, he said, noting street-paving has narrowed the apertures of some drains.
First Published August 27, 2011 12:00 am
