Published: November 17, 2009 05:51 pm      

Flood control: Princeton project must be funded

Yet another grant funding request by the city of Princeton to correct chronic flooding and drainage problems around the Stafford Drive area has been rejected.

Why? Flooding along Stafford Drive is and has been a serious concern for years. It is a significant problem that must be corrected. So why was the city’s latest grant application rejected?

According to City Manager Wayne Shumate, the city’s latest application was for a state Small Cities Block Grant. It was denied. The city was seeking approximately $500,000 to create larger drains for the Stafford Drive area. Water now has to take several turns before it reaches Brush Creek. One possible solution city officials are considering is the installation of a three-foot-wide drainage pipe in the vicinity of Brick Street. Stafford Drive itself is a state highway.

However, it will take funding assistance from the state and or federal government to complete this priority project.

Although the city’s public works department cleaned out drainage ditches as well as piping in the Stafford Drive area this past summer, flooding and drainage problems in the area continue to persist.

Whenever substantial rainfall occurs over the city, portions of Stafford Drive — especially at the Bee Street and Trent Street intersections — tend to flood to the point where the road has to be temporarily closed.

The flooding also touches residential areas around Stafford Drive.

“The real issue is having the capacity to drain the water off, and as it currently stands, the system doesn’t have the capacity to do that,” Shumate said last week. He said the city is still actively seeking grant funding for the project.

We are baffled over why the city’s latest grant application was rejected.

Flooding — and the threat to public property and the well-being of citizens in those areas impacted by high waters — is and must be a priority concern. Folks living along the Stafford Drive area, and motorists who must attempt to drive through high water along the busy roadway every time there is a torrential downpour, deserve better from our funding agencies, and our elected officials in Charleston and Washington.

It’s time for our funding agencies — on both the state and federal level — to approve the city’s request. A flood control project should be viewed as not only a priority, but also an emergency. We call upon Gov. Joe Manchin, U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., to prioritize the Stafford Drive project.

Folks living in southern West Virginia know all too well the dangers of high water. The rejection of the latest funding application for this critical flood control project on Stafford Drive is simply unacceptable.