N. Franklin rejects responsibility for W. Chestnut St. flooding
North Franklin Township supervisors Tuesday rejected a proposal to assume responsibility for a crushed groundwater pipeline that has caused repeated flooding of West Chestnut Street.
The supervisors unanimously refused the request from several property owners who believe the pipeline is the “township’s problem,” supervising Chairman Ron Junko said.
“We are not going to take over responsibility for it,” Supervisor Bob Sabot added.
State Department of Transportation and North Franklin officials have met with some of the property owners near where the street meets Franklin Farms Road to discuss the flooding that occurs during heavy rain.
Township solicitor Michael Cruny said the pipeline was built in the 1940s to reroute a stream, and that no official surveys or drawings exist on the project.
The pipeline is believed to be crushed 90 feet east of Franklin Farms and to travel past many businesses in the area.
“It’s never been part of a township project,” he said.
He said the extent of the problem wouldn’t be known until the pipeline is exposed in a project that could be costly.
“You’ll never know until you get in there,” Cruny said.
The Guttman Group of Speers, which owns a gasoline station in the area, has been relieving the flooding by turning on a pump when the water reaches a certain level, Cruny said.