Scranton neighborhood holds breath as heavy rain puts properties in peril
SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A Scranton neighborhood all too familiar with flooding is holding its collective breath this weekend. Heavy rain once again put their properties in peril.
'Oh no. Here we go again,' Scranton resident Doris Repshis said.
Flash flooding was the first thought Repshis had in her Keyser Valley neighborhood after heavy rain hit hard and fast early Saturday morning.
The flash flood fears this weekend are a flashback for her of what she and her family experienced nearly two years ago.
'I was fortunate enough to have my grandson and my son here to help me, but we bailed water for several hours from the basement,' Repshiss stated.
The September 2023 flood damaged her Jackson Street property and dozens of others.
This area is surrounded by low-lying land and two creeks, Keyser and Lindy, that meet just down the road from Merrifield Avenue.
DPW crews sprang to action around sunrise Saturday morning.
NWS issues flash flood warning for part of NEPA
They were out for hours, clearing debris from drains and setting up hoses to pump run-off into the storm water management system before it had a chance to flood homes.
'They've been doing their jobs cleaning up all that and I think they're doing a wonderful job keeping the city safe,' Lucinda Belles from Scranton explained.
'When there's a large storm event like this, sometimes we need to add extra physical pumps and hoses to the pump station itself,' Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti told 28/22 News.
'Seeing the hoses hooked up, they seem to be more on top of things quickly,' Repshis added.
Consider it lessons learned from that devastating flood nearly two years ago.
'We continue to invest in our personnel and equipment so that we can have the vac trucks and things like that, that help us keep the basins clean,' Mayor Cognetti continued.
The city says residents in Keyser Valley should soon see infrastructure improvements firsthand, and with more rain in the forecast, neighbors here are hoping this effort is a sign of what's to come: fast action and long-term solutions.
Mayor Cognetti says a $23,000,000 investment plan for stormwater upgrades has been approved.
There is no firm timetable on when the work will be completed.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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