Replaced pipe in Ross seems to have fixed flooding issue
A collapsed storm sewer pipe that caused major flooding along McKnight Road in mid-June has been replaced and is fully functional, according to Ross Township officials.
But township officials plan to continue taking steps to reduce the chances of a repeat by informing property owners about their responsibility for maintaining and replacing the lines.
“We conducted extensive inspections of the storm sewer lines that run behind properties along McKnight several years ago and let the property owners know if we discovered problems,” said Steve Korbel. “Many of the property owners made the necessary repairs, but there were several who did not.”
After a modest rainfall on July 6 caused water to pool at the intersection of McKnight and Seibert roads, township officials began searching for the source of the flooding.
The culprit was a 20-foot long section of collapsed 60-inch-wide storm pipe on the site of a closed mattress retailer across McKnight from the entrance to the Ross Park Mall.
To correct the problem, the township hired a private contractor to replace a 40-foot section of the pipe. Crews spent a week using heavy equipment to dig a trench around the pipe, which is 20 feet underground.
“The good news is that it's rained fairly heavy a few times since the work was completed and it appears to have corrected the problem,” said Commissioner Jeremy Shaffer.
The site is owned by Kin Properties of Boca Raton, Fla., which previously was notified that the line behind the building was in poor condition.
The company did not make repairs at the time, but has agreed to cover the estimated $175,000 cost of making emergency repairs.
The roughly 4 miles of corrugated steel sewer line that runs along the west side of McKnight collects storm water from pipes running across the road from businesses on the east side of the road.
The line is 60-inches wide at the point where it collapsed and increases to 72 inches at the intersection of McKnight and Seibert roads. It then grows to 108-inches wide before discharging water into a tributary of Girty's Run behind the Red Lobster restaurant on McKnight.
“The condition of that line is better than it was several years ago,” Korbel said. “But it's still not perfect. Our goal is to ensure that property owners make the repair that are needed.”
Tony LaRussa is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-772-6368 or tlarussa@tribweb.com or via Twitter @TonyLaRussaTrib.
