LORAIN, Ohio — Chronic flooding issues have been a persistent problem in Lorain neighborhoods and are the theme of a Lorain City Council committee meeting Monday.
Katherine Bronish is hoping for a permanent solution to keep the sewers near her East 29th Street home from overflowing and filling her basement.
“It’s definitely a moment of like PTSD every time it rains. You just get nervous it’s going to come into your house and you’re going to lose everything again,” she said.
In June, Bronish reached out to News 5 with frustrations over the constant battle to clear storm drains and prevent backups.
Watch what the local councilman had to say about the previous flooding:
READ MORE: Lorain council member flooded with complaints of flooding
Monday, Bronish’s front porch was still full of waterlogged items she was hoping to salvage, including childhood photos and keepsakes. She said the damage amounted to $25,000.
“When my dad died we put everything down there for storage, thinking that everything would be safe because it’s a pretty water tight basement. It wasn’t coming in through the walls, though. It was coming in because our sump pump couldn’t keep up,” she said.
News 5 has been covering flooding concerns in Lorain for years.
When facing EPA fines in 2017, the Lorain City Council approved a sewer rate hike to address critical improvements.
RELATED: Lorain residents call for a solution to chronic neighborhood flooding
A major storm in 2023 also flooded streets and sent streams of water into homes and businesses.
The floodwater displaced residents of a south Lorain homeless shelter and accelerated a remodeling project. Watch what those residents had to deal with:
READ MORE: Lorain homeless shelter, neighbors still recovering from summertime flooding
In some neighborhoods, destroyed belongings sat on curbs for weeks, waiting for an overwhelmed trash service to catch up on collections. Watch more about their plight:
READ MORE: 'We need help:' Lorain neighborhood trash remains uncollected three weeks after storms
Ward 6 Lorain City Council member Angel Arroyo said it’s been a years-long effort to improve the city’ aging sewer system. South Lorain, where much of the flooding has occurred, is among the oldest sections of the city.
He said a deluge of concerns from constituents there inspired a public meeting Monday evening.
“I’ve invited all the residents, the whole city, to come out and ask your questions,” he said.
The Lorain sewer and utilities departments, along with city leaders, planned to address concerns and explain what’s being done to address flooding.
“We might not all agree with what’s going on, but as long as we’re informed of what the city’s doing and what’s happening, hopefully we’ll be able to build on this,” Arroyo said.
The director of utilities previously told News 5 the city is designing and putting out to bid a $20 million project aimed at increasing capacity at the Pearl Avenue and Tacoma Avenue Pump Station. He said the pump station was overwhelmed in June, despite all the equipment operating as designed.
Bronish said she was skeptical about permanent solutions.
“I’ve not seen anything to benefit us whatsoever,” she said.
She planned to attend the Monday evening meeting to call for improvements.
“I just hope they fix it. That’s really it. Just fix the problem, get down to it. Even if it takes a few years, as long as you’re working on the problem, that’s all I care for,” said Bronish.
