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Borough swamped by storm runoff

Mayor: Replacement of lines may be costly

Like the rainstorms on June 10 that caused significant damage in a few area locations, Wednesday’s rainstorms dropped amounts that varied widely from place to place in the region.

At the Altoona Water Authority’s Westerly Treatment Plant,

1.2 inches fell, while at the authority’s Easterly plant, 1.4 inches fell, according to Sewer Operations Director Todd Musser.

Yet in Williamsburg, 18 miles away, more than four inches came down, much of it in about half an hour early in the afternoon, said borough Mayor Ted Hyle, citing a rain gauge near the Frankstown Branch of the Juniata River.

The downpour led to runoff from the hills above town along Clover Creek and Piney Creek roads and along Briarwood Lane and Taylor Street that the ditches and piping and the channelized “race” through the borough couldn’t handle, Hyle said.

The runoff was more than a foot deep in places and the race overflowed, he said.

The runoff from Briarwood and Taylor collapsed the foundation of a house on West First Street.

It also caused road damages and deposited rocks that needed to be cleaned up, while flooding a trio of basements that needed to be pumped out, Hyle said.

The borough has been having trouble with storms and needs to make improvements to its stormwater collection system — to slow the runoff and conduct it safely to the river, when there’s a heavy rain like Wednesday’s, Hyle said.

The problems have worsened in recent years, with more and faster runoff due to development in Woodbury Township and no-till practices on farm fields, he added.

The current piping in the borough is too small — like the 21-inch pipe that receives runoff from Piney Creek Road at the head of the race, he said, but upgrades “will take time and money.”

Potentially lots of money, he said, as one estimate was for $11 million.

“Holy crap,” was his reaction to hearing that estimate, which is far more than the borough can afford, Hyle said.

He said there are options that need to be considered.

The borough will need to work with the township and PennDOT, and will need to set aside money in its budget — which is in the neighborhood of $500,000 a year — and pursue grants, he said.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.

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