HONESDALE, PA — In direct response to stormwater damage after extreme rains on Tuesday, May 6, the Honesdale Borough Council took action on Monday, May 12 to ratify an emergency declaration. 

While the emergency declaration focused on the immediate future, and the repairs that needed to happen in short order, conversation at the meeting made it clear that Honesdale's stormwater issues had a long history, and it would take a long time to find and implement a comprehensive solution. 

The May 6 storm caused flooding throughout the borough, and particular damage to buildings near the Terrace Street - Vine Street intersection. A burst pipe destroyed a portion of the hill by St. John's Church; another flooded the ground floor room at the Wayne Inn. Click here for more. 

Honesdale borough’s stormwater issues date back over 50 years, according to a series of letters and documents brought to the meeting by resident Bob Vonsen. 

In a letter sent in 1973, the borough agreed to do a set amount of stormwater maintenance work for the Wayne Inn property, but then abandoned all responsibility for future maintenance thereof. A series of letters to and from the people who owned the property in the mid-2000s indicated that it still saw regular flooding, and the owners had difficulty finding assistance from the borough in addressing it. 

The May 12 emergency declaration is another document with promises to address the flooding situation, according to Vonson.

"Certificates of hope, that's what I call all of these letters. No disrespect to the people here, and I know things take time, but youse already had enough time. Do it right the first time," he said. 

Another Honesdale resident echoed his remarks. 

"Mature people take ownership of a problem," the resident said. "They don't just keep passing the buck. Somebody who's a leader has to say, 'Ok, we have a problem here; let's get it right the first time.' And so many times, over and over and over again, everybody's passing the buck."

Outlining a solution

Honesdale officials talked about how to find solutions for the borough's stormwater issues. However, they made it clear that fully fixing the borough's stormwater infrastructure would take time. Councilor James Cordaro said coming up with a comprehensive plan to overhaul the stormwater system could take years.

The borough's geography creates challenges for stormwater management, said Honesdale Mayor Derek Williams. The borough exists in a valley, with hills on both sides and creeks flowing into them. 

Past attempts at addressing stormwater infrastructure have paved the way for more problems in the future. The issues at Terrace and Vine stem from an earlier decision to pave over a creek bed with a parking lot and to divert the creek through underground pipes, something Williams said would not be done today. 

The borough is looking to do emergency repairs to replace what's currently broken. Williams said the borough's emergency declaration gives it a better chance to find the funding for these immediate fixes. 

"We can look at it in a way where we're thinking about how we can live with water for the next 100 years… We're looking at it in a way where the investments we make now can hopefully last for as long as the last investments did," said Williams. 

"Some of our pipes are probably 70+ years old. What we're looking to fix now, we are very mindful of wanting to last for at least that long or longer."