Flash flood strikes Canonburg again
Borough working with Chartiers to improve drainage in area
A torrential downpour along the Route 19 corridor left businesses along West Pike Street in Canonsburg underwater on Sunday, less than a month after a similar storm tore through the area.
Sunsational Tan Owner Cheryl Homerosky said her business, which is located south of the intersection of West Pike Street and McBurney Road, had only just started to recover from the last flood two weeks ago.
“We’ve been here 32 years, and I can’t tell you how many times we’ve gotten flooded,” Homerosky said as she worked alongside a handful of employees to clean the tanning salon from mud and debris on Monday afternoon.
This intersection has been a source of concern for local residents for years, as stormwater runoff from McBurney Road has periodically washed out businesses and residences farther down the hill, including Homerosky’s salon.
Homerosky said three of her tanning beds that sustained water damage during the previous flood had just been repaired to working condition when Sunday’s flood struck, leaving her unable to open on Monday.
“We’re losing out on money every day we’re closed,” she said.
According to Homerosky, she is “at a loss” on how to proceed with her business, since the wooden floor underneath the tanning stations appeared to be warped due to water infiltration.
Public works employees from Canonsburg Borough and Chartiers Township spent Monday picking up debris and mud scattered around the intersection, while a crew from Robinson Pipe Cleaning cleared a drainage pipe that runs from the top of McBurney Road in Chartiers Township down to a stormwater drain entrance at the intersection in Canonsburg Borough.
Chartiers Board of Supervisors Chairman Harlan Shober said the township is working with officials from Canonsburg to determine the best way to improve drainage in the area and prevent future flooding.
Representatives from both municipalities met last week to discuss the situation following the last flood, Shober said, and are currently devising a joint plan to remedy the ongoing issue with the drainage pipe.
When the pipe gets clogged with fallen tree limbs, dirt or other material, water can spill out onto McBurney Road and create a flood risk in the immediate area around the intersection.
“It’s flooded here as long as I can remember,” he said.
Shober said the joint group is considering replacing the current pipe with a higher-diameter alternative and revising some of the grading along the roadway in order to channel more water away from the roadway and businesses down the hill.
Canonsburg Borough Council President Eric Chandler visited the intersection Monday afternoon to inspect the affected area and meet with staff from Robinson Pipe Cleaning.
“I feel for all the businesses here. The borough is going to do all we can to help mitigate the flooding as much as we possibly can,” he said.