Officials ‘brainstorm’ flood response in Washington
A number of local elected officials gathered on Wednesday morning trying to find solutions to persistent flooding that has inundated the City of Washington throughout the summer.
Mayor JoJo Burgess and several city leaders met with state Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Carroll, to “brainstorm” ways to address the most urgent needs of the community before another storm arrives.
The two major storms that struck in September left several city blocks underwater for hours, flooded basements and made the playing surface of Washington & Jefferson College’s Cameron Stadium appear like a south-Florida swamp.
Burgess described the meeting as a productive discussion, where stakeholders were focused on finding and implementing immediate solutions.
The group referred to two studies conducted in 2010-11 and 2021 on what areas of the city were most vulnerable to flooding, which were used to highlight areas that saw the worst flooding during the recent storms.
Burgess said that since the studies were conducted before his mayoral term began in 2024, he was not sure why they did not translate into lasting solutions.
“We can’t keep doing studies, we need to do something to help this problem,” he said.
Some of the ideas that were discussed include expanding or installing new stormwater retention basins around the city, and clearing debris from local waterways,
Under state law, the Department of Environmental Protection tightly regulates stream dredging operations to minimize the negative impact on native wildlife.
Burgess said that city leaders still need to push toward implementing real, effective solutions, no matter how long the bureaucratic process takes.
“We’re working to figure out how to fix this problem and how to find a solution,” he said.
According to Burgess, the city is currently pursuing a range of relief payments for residents from both the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, but said that in order to unlock these funds, the city must meet a minimum threshold of reported flood damages.
He encouraged any resident who has been impacted by recent flooding to the relevant authorities via the county’s damage report website. Full information on flood damage reporting can be found at washingtoncopa.gov/news/wc-dps-floodreports2.