Allegheny Co. Leaders Meet About Flooding Possibility

After copious amounts of snow fell in the Pittsburgh region, some neighborhoods are gearing up for possible flooding.

Allegheny County officials met with the Army Corp. of Engineers Tuesday to get an update on the status of the snow packs, dams and reservoirs around the county. County officials said they met with officials from the National Weather Service on Monday.

Officials said they are not overly concerned about the current conditions but said the next two weeks will be critical to see if problems arise around the county. Officials said they will continue to keep in close contact with the National Weather Service and the Army Corp.

The county is asking municipalities to clean up the drizzle and clear storm drains to help prevent flooding problems, but in some cases, those problems could be unavoidable.

Crews in Millvale and Etna, areas which are typically hit the hardest with flooding problems, could be seen clearing roads and storm drains Tuesday, but residents say they're always ready.

"We just watch and wait and when it [the water] gets above the sewer over there, that is when we start notifying the neighbors that the creek is coming up and to have an extra eye on it. So we have a chain link and a phonebook that we all call one another and pitch in," one resident said.

Clarence Bousum's daughter lives next to a creek in Carnegie, and with the warmer temperatures, he's concerned the creek will overflow.

"It worries me a lot," said Bousum. "But, what do you do?"

Carnegie officials are also taking measures to make sure melting snow have no problem getting down drains in the area.

"We make sure they are free of debris and trash," said Boro Manager Whitney Brady. "Now with the melting snow and the rain we are expecting, we are going back through the communities that historically flood and making sure they are clear so the water can flow."

Snow melt will continue to be fairly slow with showers heading out and temperatures cooling off.

Most areas have lost about six to nine inches of snow over the last five days. High temperatures only pushing into the lower 40s and relatively light rain on Monday have allowed for a slow, controlled melt across the area.

High temperatures will cool off into the 30s the next few days as colder air slowly works into the region. Snow showers will begin to fall as we head through the week. The best chance of accumulating snow is Wednesday and Thursday when a couple of inches of snow could fall.

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