Residents decry flooding in city's East End
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Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, left, listens as Elizabeth Beroes of Shadyside talks about 8 feet of water that flooded her basement in 2009. The community hearing on East End flooding was held Tuesday at Winchester Thurston School in Shadyside.
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They came from East Liberty, Homewood, Oakland, Shadyside and Squirrel Hill with variations of the same story -- chronic flooding that's rotted their walls, ruined their carpets, set their cars afloat and cost thousands of dollars in repairs.
About 300 people turned out Tuesday night for a community hearing on flooding, an issue that's gripped the city since heavy rains Aug. 19 damaged the East End again and triggered a flash flood on Washington Boulevard in Highland Park that killed four people. About 50 residents -- some angry, others sad and pleading for help -- went to the microphone to share nightmares about sewage and stormwater.
Elizabeth Beroes of Shadyside said a 2009 flood put 8 feet of water in her basement, lifted the cars in her garage and slammed them against the walls.
"We're on our second round of furnaces, our second round of hot water heaters," she said.
Richard Rattner, president of the Shadyside Chamber of Commerce, said flooding in recent years has caused $5 million in damage to 72 neighborhood businesses.
Mike Bane of Highland Park said he's had to deal with three floods in the six months he has owned his home, while Julie McCabe of Homewood said repeated flooding has caused more than $10,000 in damage to her home and left 2- to 3-inch pools to clean up each time.
Ted Melnyk, operations director for Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Shadyside, said floods this summer caused $150,000 in damage to about 6,000 square feet of finished space.
"It's all raw sewage. ... We're getting tired of cleaning it up," he said.
City Councilman Bill Peduto and a handful of community groups organized the hearing at Winchester Thurston School in Shadyside. Among those attending were Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, Public Safety Director Michael Huss, Public Works Director Rob Kaczorowski, executives of the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority, state legislators and city council members.
First Published September 7, 2011 12:00 am
