Predictions of up to 4 inches of rain today could test the 2nd Street stormwater drainage system recently installed, possibly beyond its design limits, if rainfall exceeds 1 inch per hour for more than an hour.
The 2nd Street Stormwater Project was paid for largely with a $125,400 grant to alleviate the massive amount of water that would rush onto sidewalks along the South side of 2nd Street, East of Keystone. Sidewalks were damaged and basements of homes would become flooded.
Originally, there was only one catch basin on either side of 2nd Street, where it ended at Center Street. The project replaced the original catch basins with deeper ones, added 4 additional ones along 2nd Street, replaced drainage piping, and changed the pitch of the road to better control the direction of water flow.
If we indeed get 4″, or even 3″ today, it will certainly provide some much anticipated information of how well the new stormwater system will cope with an unusually large amount of water that comes from Wilson Borough, crossing Iron Street.
A personal inspection of the street, during the last heavy rain we had, showed me that there were no problems, but weather reporters predict much more rainfall this time.
I have an umbrella ready. Since I live on the North side of 2nd Street, one block up from the new system, I will be checking on the results during the day and will update this post later.
UPDATE
2:00 PM: Still no promised “downpour.”
7:00 PM: It appears, according to the latest weather report, that rain will be constant through the night with only about 1/10″ of rain per hour. Guess a real test will have to wait.
Disclaimer: On January 4, 2016, the owner of WestEastonPA.com began serving on the West Easton Council following an election. Postings and all content found on this website are the opinions of Matthew A. Dees and may not necessarily represent the opinion of the governing body for The Borough of West Easton.
