April showers bring May flowers but, unfortunately, they sometimes also bring things that aren’t as nice, like flooding of homes and businesses and an increased flow of sewage and pollution into local streams.

Many communities in Westmoreland County regularly deal with problems caused by too much rain and stormwater runoff with no easy place to go.

If you know of such a problem place, you are encouraged to attend one of four public meetings that will be held during April. 

The meetings are one way organizers hope to identify where stormwater problems are especially troublesome in Westmoreland County, with the goal of ultimately identifying ways to fix them.

“Everyone is welcome to attend these meetings, and we especially hope that people who know of or deal directly with stormwater runoff situations, such as farmers, business owners, engineers, developers, and municipal officials, will attend,” said Greg Phillips, District manager/CEO of the Westmoreland Conservation District.

Phillips’ organization, along with the Westmoreland County Department of Planning and Development, is coordinating this effort, which has the backing of the Westmoreland County Commissioners. 

Input from the public meetings will be used over the next few years to develop a comprehensive plan for managing stormwater in Westmoreland County.  This plan will include such things as the development of local municipal ordinances regarding stormwater management, planning for better upfront management of stormwater, and ways to solve flooding and other water-related problems. 

The plan will be specific by watershed and will meet the requirements of the state Stormwater Management Act (Act 167).

Public meetings will be held in four locations throughout the county for the convenience of area citizens.  Each meeting will be exactly the same; so there is no need to attend more than one.

— April 19: 1 p.m. – 3 p.m., Westmoreland Conservation District, J. Roy Houston Conservation Center, 218 Donohoe Road, Greensburg

— April 19: 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., Rostraver Township Municipal Building, 201 Municipal Drive, Belle Vernon

— April 21: 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., Ligonier Township Municipal Complex, One Municipal Park Drive, Ligonier

-- April 28: 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., Allegheny Township Community Building, 136 Community Building Road, Leechburg

“Citizen input is valuable in making sure that we create a plan that addresses our county’s key stormwater problems – from drainage issues to flooding – and improves the quality of life for county residents,” Phillips said.

The plan will be a meaningful guidance document for the major users of our county’s water and for those who help ensure its quality.

It also will help to protect the county’s exceptional- and high-quality streams, and encourage remediation of impaired streams.

Homeowner’s Stormwater Guide

The Westmoreland District also has available a Homeowner’s Guide To Stormwater on how to develop and implement a stormwater management plan.

For more information, contact Christie at the Westmoreland Conservation District, 724-837-5271.

4/4/2016