EVANS CITY — Representatives from local engineering firm Herbert, Rowland & Grubic unveiled their plans to improve the borough’s stormwater system at the council meeting Monday night, Oct. 2.

Council member Mark Widdersheim said the improvements can’t come soon enough for the borough, whose current stormwater system is decades behind the times.

“It’s a zillion years old,” Widdersheim said. “That section of town is kind of the low end of town, where Breakneck Creek comes up. That’s where the flooding starts and where it’s worse.”

The focus of the first phase of the project is around Elizabeth Avenue, where the existing stormwater system is plugged with silt and debris. The plan calls for rebuilding the structures around that area to disperse stormwater away from the streets and into the creek.

“Rebuilding the structures under there will give us clean passages with larger diameters and more hydraulic flow to be able to get rid of stormwater faster,” Widdersheim said.

Phase 1 also includes some “build alternates” which may be added to the construction if funding allows for it.

According to Widdersheim, the borough will start accepting bids for contractors for the construction by the end of the month.

“If they're interested in the work, they will bid, and we will pick the lowest responsible bidder,” Widdersheim said. “We need to get more than one bid or we have to rebid it.”

Devin Dunwoody, project manager at HRG, estimates that construction will start by June.