Radnor residents call on BOC, School Board to act now on stormwater project

Time for an update on how much has been accomplished in fixing the inadequate stormwater controls and management in our North Wayne community.

The township has passed a fee that every property owner pays, so we are all contributing about $1.2 million every year that is specifically ear-marked to fix the township’s stormwater infrastructure. About two-thirds of that amount comes from commercial buildings and institutions, not households.

Radnor has been talking and arguing and studying and debating this problem for decades. Many people have suffered real harm, emotional distress and financial hardship from this situation. Insurers have covered hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars in damages and losses.

But, really. What has been done to fix the pipes and where they direct water? What has been done to the roads, sidewalks, buildings and land to reduce the peak volume of water that floods our streets and properties? What has been done so far? Nothing.

We know that the circa 1998 basin at North Wayne field must be replaced. It is a very significant liability because of its recorded failures. The township has paid a highly qualified, bonded engineering firm to complete the plans, and the new basin is ready to construct. The community is behind this project. It increases the capacity of the basin about 600% and keeps a multi-acre park with a baseball and softball field. The new basin will have better engineering than simply allowing the basin’s topsoil and stone walls to collapse into the street and unleash a river across North Wayne Avenue and into adjacent homes and on to adjacent private properties. An open (to the air) basin means water can “evapo-transpire” into the air as well as drain, increasing its effectiveness.

No, the basin fix is not a “solution to all our stormwater problems.” There is no single solution. There are incremental fixes and improvements over 5 or 10 or 15 years, and the basin is the single biggest one and it’s ready to accomplish now. It is not and never has been a question about the basin OR other improvements. It’s fix the basin AND implement many other pervasive green infrastructure measures.

It’s extraordinarily frustrating to us that we can spend this much time, energy and hard-earned taxpayer money on talking about what needs to be done to protect life and property, and not actually put a shovel in the ground and fix the pipes and cement that exacerbate this flooding.

Right now, we are stuck waiting for the Radnor Township School District to approve the project or, as some have hinted, transfer ownership of the basin property only back to the township. And we are really stuck. We are stuck waiting for the next storm that will cut off roads, pollute the water, damage our property and again threaten our lives.

We need and we want this issue resolved today so the project can proceed. We are Republicans and Democrats alike and this is not a partisan issue. Five members of the board and Bob Zienkowski and Steve Norcini from the township have shown great character and professionalism on this issue. But that has only taken us to this point. All of our elected officials have largely come down on the side of reason and said they want residents to get relief and these risks must be reduced.

Now it is time for the school district to complete the paperwork that lets us all move forward.

Signed,

Libby and Bill Bruno
Bob and Kim Shaud
Betty Surbeck
Jason Surbeck
Kenneth C. Taylor
Peter Rush
Ted Merriman
Richardson T. Merriman
Pam Merriman
Margaret Moesel
John Velutini
Mike Lihota
Lori Higgins
Susan and Eric Morrison
Edna McCloy
Clara Pellerin
Mary Bolter
The Erickson family
The Cunningham family
Robert P. Boyer
Linda C. Thiel
The Springer family
The Morrison family
The Girod family