Washington to begin stream cleanup in coming weeks
City works to prevent future flooding
Washington Mayor JoJo Burgess said that he is feeling optimistic for the city’s ongoing flood cleanup efforts following a meeting last week with state Department of Environmental Protection officials.
Burgess said that Thursday’s meeting brought “a lot of clarity” to several lingering questions regarding the proposed “action plan” that has been developed in recent weeks to prevent future flooding in Washington.
Southwestern Pennsylvania – including Washington County – was left reeling following four intense flash floods that swept through the region across August and September.
Officials are concerned that a build-up of pockets of debris, fallen trees and other sediments in several culverts and streams across the city that were deposited by the four previous storms could increase flood vulnerability if left unaddressed.
Some culverts have over a foot of unwanted debris impeding the flow of water, which could lead to future flooding.
City leaders have met virtually with Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) staff previously, but Thursday’s meeting was the first opportunity for them to meet face-to-face and inspect the waterways in person.
Burgess led a tour group including City Administrator Rich Cleveland; the city engineer; a representative from state Sen. Camera Bartolotta’s office; and DEP staff to inspect several high-risk sites throughout the city, with subsequent discussion on corrective measures.
Previously, city leaders were hesitant to proceed with the cleanup effort without further input from DEP due to state regulations regarding stream dredging and cleanup.
The DEP heavily regulates any mechanized dredging efforts in local waterways to protect wildlife and fragile aquatic ecosystems, often requiring permits and extensive environmental review prior to approval.
The city wanted to see what they were allowed to do in order to address the debris build-up without triggering the permit process.
Burgess said Thursday’s meeting left him with much greater clarity on this issue, saying that the city is allowed to proceed with stream cleanup efforts as long as the work was primarily done by hand, with any large mechanized equipment constrained to the land next to the creek as to not disturb the aquatic ecosystem unjustly.
“This … meeting produced some answers to questions on flood mitigation in the city moving forward which were either unknown at the time or misunderstood,” he said in a statement.
Bringing large equipment into the stream itself could trigger the dredging permit process.
He said the city will coordinate with local nonprofits to assemble teams of volunteers to begin cleanup efforts within the next several weeks.
According to Burgess, the city will work with local home and business owners to help them understand the extent of what they can do to clean up stream debris on their property.
Burgess said that these parties should contact his office directly with any questions about the cleanup process.