A downpour on the afternoon of July 1 caused a repeat of flooding that happened in June 2021 in Valley View — between the boulevards — leading City Council Monday to detail efforts to correct the situation since that previous flood.

There have been improvements and proposals for further improvements, but the city doesn’t have a real answer yet, according to Councilman Dave Ellis.

The July 1 downpour generated a “carbon copy” of what happened on June 10, 2021, said Lane Folmar of Adams Avenue, showing a reporter a fence torn away for 20 feet and damaged elsewhere, a shed where Christmas decorations were floating and ruined, another shed that got 2 inches of water despite having been raised 7 inches and moved back following the previous flood and a basement door that didn’t break under pressure from 3 feet of water only because of a 2×6 brace.

Shortly after the previous flood, the city hired an engineering firm that proposed removing 19 structures in Valley View and creating a “meandering stream” through it, but that would have cost $54 million and would have taken seven years just for permitting, Ellis said.

Other options discussed have been creation of a retention pond near Second Street and Caroline Avenue and construction of rain gardens along Brush Run through the valley, Ellis said.

The retention pond may still ultimately be in the “mix” of Valley View solutions, he said.

There are significant “obstacles” with the rain garden plan, he said.

Regardless, there’s not enough money left from the city’s $39 million American Rescue Plan Act grant to pay for any of those projects, Ellis said.

ARPA funding has been spent or set aside for many flood projects in the city, but the Valley View proposals haven’t “fit,” he said.

City officials have talked with the Army Corps of Engineers about a possible buyout of Valley View property owners, but it’s uncertain where that stands, and there may be floodplain issues involved, Ellis said.

The city has also been reaching out to the state, Ellis said.

Last week, officials got in touch with State Sen. Judy Ward, R-Blair, who offered to help work through the problems, he said.

A few days ago, Ellis spoke with the Shapiro administration’s secretary of legislative affairs in hopes of arranging a meeting with the leadership of the Department of Environmental Protection, Ellis said.

Factors that have caused the Valley View flooding, which has occurred at other times before 2021, includes an increase in storm runoff from East End and water flowing from I-99 into the neighborhood between 10th and 12th streets, Ellis said.

Work that has been done by the city already includes replacement of damaged pipes under Kettle Street at Hudson Avenue and the slip lining of pipes under Pleasant Valley Boulevard at Second Street.

Not only is funding an obstacle, but so is the time it might take for a fix, according to Ellis.

“These people have problems right now,” he said.

“We are committed to a solution and resolution,” Ellis stated in an address to the audience at the council meeting.

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