City Working to Address Elm Grove Flooding Issues
Photo by Eric Ayres Trending
WHEELING -- City leaders in Wheeling are taking initial steps to address recurring flooding issues in the Elm Grove area following heavy rains.
During Tuesday night’s meeting of Wheeling City Council, City Manager Robert Herron invited engineer A.J. Smith with the city’s engineering and consulting firm Verdantas to give a short presentation on what has caused flooding in recent years, particularly at the Elm Terrace Shopping Plaza, where several businesses have taken on stormwater because of ineffective drainage.
"As you know, several weeks ago, we had some very unfortunate flooding in Elm Grove in the Elm Terrace area," Herron said. "City staff, along with our consulting engineers -- Verdantas -- have been working on what happened during that storm and ways in which we can try to avoid that in the future."
Smith provided a short slide presentation that included maps of a 100-acre watershed around the Elm Grove area, which has experienced flooding not only when Wheeling Creek rises but also when heavy downpours inundate the stormwater system.
"The parking lot sits kind of in a natural bowl with some very steep terrain above it," Smith noted of the shopping plaza.
Heavy rains caused flooding there in June, and another similar flood occurred in June of last year, Smith noted.
While the storm sewer pipes could accommodate the high volume of water that came during the rains, the inlet in the plaza could not, Smith said.
Short-term options to mitigate the risk of future flooding would include creating a larger inlet capable of handling heavy stormwater flows. Smith added that diverting excess runoff from the nearby Sledd parking lot also would help control the volume of water entering the plaza area.
Upstream improvements could also slow water flow and prevent debris from entering the stormwater path. Temporary dams and other structures could be installed upstream to catch larger debris and prevent obstructions to the flow.
A new, larger stormwater inlet in the plaza parking lot was proposed, appearing similar to a bioswale that would take up one or two existing parking spaces.
"This will really help handle that inflow so that it’s not like a bottleneck, choke point -- when there’s intense rains and the water starts backing up on that lot," Smith said.
"We did brief the plaza property owners on this situation, and they are agreeable to eliminating a couple of parking spaces in order to construct this," Herron added.
The existing stormwater inlet was quickly clogged, and water bypassed the pipe because of debris, officials indicated. Uphill, there also are drainage ways that are inundating the lower neighborhood, and excess stormwater should be diverted to other areas.
"We definitely want to attack this problem from multiple angles, but it’s always best to address the source of the problem," Smith said, suggesting upstream mitigation along with expanding the capability of capturing more stormwater with a larger inlet or inlets.
Long-term improvements would include installation of multiple inlets in the parking lot, creation of underground stormwater retention and possibly a pump station to get stormwater to the creek more quickly. Other long-term solutions would focus on diverting upstream storm flows to other lines to reduce drainage in the plaza.
Herron indicated that the planning work is ongoing, and legislation to authorize engineering for a project addressing the stormwater issue in Elm Grove will likely come before council in the coming weeks.
In other action during Tuesday night’s meeting, Wheeling City Council unanimously approved a contract to demolish historic buildings for the 14th Street Development Project. The project, involving a multimillion-dollar private investment by Vol for Life, is expected to bring a new waterfront complex that will include a hotel, restaurant, retail area and other amenities to a site across the street from WesBanco Arena.
At the end of the meeting, a number of individuals signed up to speak before council on various topics. Four residents addressed council to once again speak in opposition to a proposed data center at the former Centre Foundry property in Warwood.