Bouncing from PennDOT to township to township, flooded homeowners left high and dry

Rain has brought Don and Helen Holland something other than May flowers — a constant worry about flooding and property damage.The couple bought their Moore Township home on East Dell Road in 2003 and at first had no regrets, often inviting friends over for relaxation in their backyard, which overlooks an open pasture.Then, a few years later, everything changed — they began experiencing water issues that rendered their property a soggy mess and affected their well and septic system. They believe the problem stems from a nearby stormwater pipe PennDOT unearthed on their neighbor’s property.Adding to their dilemma, their property is divided between two municipalities — their house and well sit in Moore Township and their on-lot septic system is in Bushkill Township. State and local officials have tried to get to the bottom of the problem, but the Hollands have no resolution, and apparently nowhere left to turn.PennDOT spokesman Ron Young says the state cleared out this stormwater pipe in 2011 to get water off Route 512. (APRIL GAMIZ / THE MORNING CALL/)PennDOT spokesman Ron Young denies his agency is responsible. He said the state cleared out the pipe in a utility easement on neighbor Bill Keenhold’s property in 2011 to get water off Route 512.“Any water that would be on the roadway would need to be drained off the roadway or under the roadway in this case and that’s the extent of the state’s responsibility,” he said.He also said the pipe was extended farther from the road “about 10 years ago” in order to keep the discharge away from Keenhold’s home.The Hollands say rather than direct the flow to a nearby catch basin, PennDOT let the water flow straight downhill to their property.“They unearthed it and didn’t think of the consequences,” Helen Holland said.Young disagreed. “The department’s position is that the Route 512 drainage pipe is operating as intended to transmit water from one side of the road to the other — in the same direction this water would naturally flow if the road did not exist,” he wrote in an email.The Hollands believe it’s resulted in standing water that has left their property soggy, unusable for outdoor activities and difficult to maintain. It has also led to a more serious concern.Helen and Don Holland of Bushkill Township say flooding in their basement and on their property, which they say began several years after they moved in, has wrecked their property and possibly poses a health risk to them. (APRIL GAMIZ / THE MORNING CALL/)The couple recently brought a water sample to a forum on water quality held by Penn State Extension and received troubling news — they were told their well water is contaminated with E. coli bacteria and coliform.The couple, who have a 10-year-old daughter, have also been getting water in their basement.Young and Keenhold, who has lived in his Moore Township home more than 50 years, both pointed to another possible culprit: a community of 27 single-family homes uphill from Keenhold’s property.Photos provided by Young show water flowing downhill toward Keenhold’s property — “note that none of this water originates from the Route 512 drainage pipe,” he wrote — and suggested that is likely causing problems for the Hollands and Keenhold, who also has water in his basement.Neighbor Bill Keenhold (right) discusses flooding issues with Helen and Don Holland. (APRIL GAMIZ / THE MORNING CALL/)Both Bushkill and Moore townships, which approved the land development plan for the subdivision in December 2005, dismiss that possibility.While addressing council May 7, Moore Township Manager Nicholas Steiner said he visited the subdivision and Keenhold’s property in September with township engineer Kevin Horvath and saw no evidence of water coming from the subdivision.Both agreed that the source of the problem was likely an open field along Community Drive just south of Keenhold’s land that owner Ron Muschlitz once plowed for crops, but no longer does.Since the water is not coming off a township road or from township property, there is nothing they can do, solicitor David Backenstoe said.“The township cannot get involved in a private property dispute like that,” he said.Helen and Don Holland’s home in Bushkill Township has suffered stormwater flooding, which they haven’t been able to get resolved. (APRIL GAMIZ / THE MORNING CALL/)Horvath, who checked the contour of the land both visually and through online resources, pointed back to water coming off Route 512 south of the field, saying it “could be a source as well.” Bushkill Township secretary/treasurer Belinda Roberts said via email that township engineer Robert Collura said there are no problems with the subdivision.“Based on his knowledge of stormwater flow in the area, there are no township-related run-off issues,” she concluded.Whatever the source, Don Holland now fears he must deal with contaminated drinking water, a costly bill to replace their septic system, and health problems from a swampy yard prone to mosquitoes.His mushy property, he fears, could be from brown water from a failing septic tank.The odor, he said, “on certain days can be real bad.”Kevin Duffy is a freelance writer for The Morning Call.
Source: Morningcall