WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Outside of houses along Linn Drive in Washington Township, Fayette County, are piles of furniture, appliances and other personal items heaped on the curb.
Homeowners said the items were destroyed by sewage and stormwater flooding during Saturday’s heavy rainfall.
Residents told Channel 11 it’s not the first time their basements have flooded and that they want to work with township supervisors and the Municipal Authority of Washington Township (MATW) to prevent it from happening again.
Rich Planey sent Channel 11 videos taken shortly after the 4th of July downpour, as his basement was starting to flood – the second time since 2018.
“We’ve basically lost another house. Everything down there, it was a finished game room,” Planey said. “I had six-and-a-half feet of water back then. This time, I only got five, but this time, it was sewage.”
Planey said this will end up costing him thousands of dollars, and he’s not alone.
Next door, Jeffrey Roberts showed us the water line in his basement at the well.
“All of your keepsakes, valuables are floating in sewage water,” Roberts said. “There’s six feet of water in the basement, and here we are again, seven years later.”
Both men believe there’s an issue with the stormwater and sewage systems – even after, Roberts said Washington Township replaced one section of pipe nearby. He said the problem has only gotten worse and wants to work with township officials to find a solution.
“[We are hoping they could] possibly get someone to survey or [bring in] engineers to look at what and where the problems are coming from,” Roberts said. “In a week, this could all happen again if we get any substantial rain; it’s going to happen again and be out that $10,000-$12,000.”
“There are three supervisors. I did speak to the one; he’s in charge of the road department. He said he would come out and have somebody look at the storm drains,” Planey said.
David Tamasy, solicitor for both Washington Township and MAWT, send the following statement to Channel 11:
Both the Washington Township Supervisors and the […] Municipal Authority are aware of sewage and water backflows into the homes of various Washington Township residents. The Township municipal building was also flooded by the waters of this most recent storm and will be closed to the public this week as we undertake flood remediation efforts. The Township plans to reopen the municipal building on July 13th and will be open during regular business hours.
The Township strongly encourages residents who were impacted by the flooding to contact both the Township Secretary and the Municipal Authority of Washington Township via email or phone so they can be contacted by Township Representatives regarding the flooding and directly assess its impact.
Both the Supervisors of Washington Township and the board members of the Municipal Authority of Washington Township shall meet in the near future to coordinate water remediation and control efforts in the affected areas. The Washington Township Supervisors strongly encourage residents to attend the next regular meeting of the Municipal Authority of Washington Township on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, at 6:00 P.M. at the Township Meeting Room.
Both the Washington Township Board of Supervisors and the Washington Township Municipal Authority Board Members share the concerns and frustrations of the township residents and shall work diligently to address the impacts of this recent flooding.
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