Westmoreland approves storm water management plan

A new stormwater management plan could soon be in place to hopefully help alleviate flooding in Westmoreland County.

The Integrated Water Resources Plan, a 217-page document, identifies areas that are at risk for floods and outlines potential efforts to keep water from overflowing waterways and encroaching on roads and homes.

“Hopefully, this will alleviate some of the floods in the future,” Commissioner Gina Cerilli said.

Officials with the county’s planning department and the Westmoreland Conservation District developed the plan over the past year. It still must be approved by the state’s Department of Environmental Protection. County commissioners voted to adopt it Thursday.

The plan calls for the county’s 65 municipalities to pass a stormwater management ordinance that will mandate controls to reduce the potential for flooding. Municipalities will have six months to approve an ordinance after the county’s water resources plan is approved by the state.

In addition to offering a sample ordinance for municipalities to adopt, the plan also proposes a variety of solutions such as buying properties in flood-prone areas, restoring streams and waterways, installing mechanisms to collect debris, enhancing drainage systems and planting trees.

Officials said there have been as many as 200 flooding incidents in the county since 2012. About 5% of county residents live in a flood plain and more than 9,000 people reside in areas that could experience a catastrophic flood event every century.

The county has more than 2,300 miles of waterways, including wetlands, groundwater and floodplains.