Flooding costs North Huntingdon car wash about $600,000 in damages, owner says
Every time there is a heavy storm and warnings of flash flooding, North Huntingdon car wash owner Ronald Palarino wonders if his business will be flooded again, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage.
“It’s frustrating. We had $300,000 to $400,000 in damage in September and there’s $300,000 in damage from July,” Palarino, owner of Palarino’s Car Wash & Express Detailing Center on Route 30, said Monday afternoon as he watched it rain.
Palarino had cleanup crews working at his business Monday, repairing a car wash wall damaged by the flood. A new garage door was installed because water pushed in the bottom of the door, flooding and ruining the motors of dryers used in the business.
His office was flooded with about four inches of muddy water and had to be remodeled. It was remodeled after the September flooding and “a lot of it is gone,” Palarino said.
Palarino said he was awakened three to four times Sunday night into Monday morning, checking security cameras at his business to see if water was rising and endangering his property.
“I should not have to live like this,” said Palarino, who has owned the car wash for 31 years..
“If it keeps happening … I’m going to be gone,” he told North Huntingdon Commissioners last week.
Palarino contended the flooding at his car wash is caused by a broken storm water pipe on an adjacent 16-acre property.
Jeff Silka, township manager, said they have reviewed the problem and may take legal action, but did not specify any action to be taken.
Joe Napsha is a TribLive reporter covering Irwin, North Huntingdon and the Norwin School District. He also writes about business issues. He grew up on Neville Island and has worked at the Trib since the early 1980s. He can be reached at jnapsha@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.
