Jun 14, 2018 2 min read

The repeated flooding in the same area of West Chestnut Street (Route 40) in recent weeks has become frustrating for North Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Company.

Fire Chief Dave Bane said his firefighters have been called to the area seven times in recent weeks, costing the department money in terms of keeping trucks running for hours until the water recedes.

“It’s a mess,” township solicitor Gary Sweat said in response to Bane’s comments at a supervisors meeting Tuesday.

An especially wet spring has made the problem worse in an area near Franklin Farms Road where the township believes an underground storm sewer line has collapsed, Sweat said.

At this point, no one knows for sure who owns the pipe, where it collapsed and who is responsible for replacing the line, he said.

At least one car travels into the water and stalls there each time the road floods, Bane said. He also said vehicles have struck and destroyed the fire department’s roadblocks.

Sweat said the flooding has been causing problems for area businesses, including Rite Aid, where a portion of its parking lot is believed to have subsided because of the broken sewer line.

“We’re scratching our heads,” Sweat said.

He said the state Department of Transportation will likely be the driving force in determining what to do and who needs to pay for the problem because the road is state-owned.