BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A few homeowners from the Valley community of South Buffalo crossing their fingers for council members to invest in stopping the severe flooding from destroying their basements.
A homeowner from the neighbor of Smith and Southpark tells 7 News reporter, Yoselin Person, they have spent thousands of dollars to repair flood damages. He, too, hopes council members can see the need in investing into the issue.
"Everytime there's a good wind storm, especially if it's combined with a good rainstorm, we get some serious flooding in here," says Jesse Reiter. "Everybody has got their pipes bursting out of their basements. We're trying to stay ahead of it. We all had instances where we had damaged furnaces and water and tanks and the problem has gotten a lot worse in the last few years."
Reiter says he and his fellow residents have had this growing flooding issue for the past four years, and he would send thousands of damage repairs in his basement.
"Everyone in the neighborhood when we get reports of 60 miles per hour gust we are all holding our breath and hoping we are not going to have any further flooding or damaged basements," he says.
The executive director of the Valley Community Association, Peg Overdorf, calls for the City of Buffalo to take action.
"We're asking the city to examine it and analyze it and figure it out so these people can breathe right now; they're replacing a lot of HVAC equipment year after year, so it's not good," she says.
Fillmore District councilman Mitch Nowakowski says he continues to be in the city's ear about the reoccurring issue.
He asks his fellow council members to invest some of $331 million of American Rescue Plan funds to resolve the flooding issue for the neighbors of Valley.
"The Buffalo Sewer Authority is investigating where these faulty valves are happening, and they are now going to determine what the best approach is," says Nowakowski. "Additional sewer work and making sure the sewer is equipped with sensors so you can know where the break is."
The councilman says the cost of how much is needed to fix the issue is undetermined until public works and the sewer authority comes up with what needs to be fixed.
"I'm going to be fighting to make sure we have adequate resources to address this issue," the councilman says.
Until then, homeowners would have to cross their fingers and wait for the city to take action.
"I think it'll be a fairly inexpensive fix, and it'll make a big difference for everyone down here," Reiter says.
Councilman Mitch Nowakowski says public works continue to investigate the valves near the river by the homeowners.
He expresses he's confident his fellow council members would understand the need to put money into this situation.
