HARMONY — Several residents who live on Monroe Street were at the Tuesday, May 7, council meeting to express concerns about the two floods in April.

“Once you’ve been through a flood, I promise you it’s nothing you ever want to do again,” said Tonya Reynolds. “I don't’ know mentally how I could do that again. Honestly it’s one of the most horrific things I’ve ever been through.”

Residents and business owners from Harmony were present at Tuesday’s council meeting to express concern about the recent flooding. Several people who live or work on Monroe, Mercer and Spring streets talked about the hardships they endured during the floods.

“We came because we heard there was going to be flood talk,” said Olivia Faruquee, a resident of Monroe Street. “We’ve been here since 2017, and when we bought our house we were told that we lived in a flood plain and we knew that. However, we weren’t aware that the flood plain can happen by coming up our drains and getting sewage into our house.”

Faruquee said even though her family had purchased flood insurance, the policy did not cover prevention and they had to purchase a back flow valve to control the flow of water that may come into the house.

Those preventive measures did not stop sewage from coming into her family’s home during the April 12 flooding, she said.

“I was expecting floodwaters to come into our house through the creek,” she said. “But it’s coming though your guys’ sewer system, which I feel like that's something (the borough) should maintain.”

Solicitor Matt Racunas said he understood Faruquee’s frustration but ultimately the sewer system was the responsibility of the Western Butler County Authority.

“The answer is to put a backflow-preventer in,” he said. “That’s probably what they will tell you, and if you have that, that's probably the best thing you can do.”

Morgan Anderson lives on Spring Street, a road that runs through Jackson Township and Harmony. She said she had concerns about the township’s future development problem and the impact it could have on flooding.

“We don’t expect you to understand Jackson Township’s plan; we expect to know what Harmony’s portion of the plan is, as you understand it, for the water mitigation,” Anderson said.

Morgan, along with several other residents who live on Spring Street, spoke up during the public comment portion of the meeting, asking council if there was anything the borough could do to make sure Jackson Township’s developments will not have adverse effects on water mitigation in Harmony.

Racunas said the borough did not have jurisdiction in the neighboring municipality, but could bring up the concerns to Jackson Township officials if it were to have an adverse effect on Harmony.

“So if there are issues happening with traffic control, issues with potential liabilities or damages, that’s something we should and will address with Jackson Township directly,” he said.

Council did offer some relief to the concerned residents with plans to form a joint stormwater authority, which will involve other municipalities.

“(The four municipalities) are going to create an authority, a separate entity whose sole purpose is just to deal with stormwater issues,” Racunas said to the residents.

After the meeting, Reynolds said that while she is still concerned about the next flood, she did feel like she had a better understanding of the borough’s plan to address future stormwater events.

“I feel like they’re working on it from the sounds of it,” she said. “I learned a lot tonight that I didn’t think that I knew. So I do think they are working on things, with that committee they are putting together.”

Council voted unanimously to approve advertising for a public hearing for the stormwater authority, which will be held at 6:45 p.m. June 4 before the borough council meeting.