As the study on the lower Connoquenessing watershed looms, three municipalities are working to see what areas they'd like to prioritize.

In recent years, many in Harmony and Zelienople boroughs have believed a fair share of flooding has stemmed from development in Jackson Township, which is generally at a higher elevation than the boroughs. Now, the three municipalities get to test whether there's any flood-prone areas in which intergovernmental cooperation can help solve the issue through a water study.

The study, which has stemmed from meetings between Butler County and nine communities in the southern tier of the county — Adams, Cranberry, Jackson and Lancaster townships as well as Evans City, Harmony, Mars, Seven Fields and Zelienople boroughs — will look at release rates of water into the watershed from various areas in each locale.

Jackson Township and Zelienople both approved lists of priority areas that, in some cases, transcend municipal boundaries.

While Harmony has not yet approved such a list, Jackson's list includes some areas that cross the Harmony-Jackson borders.

“For us, as three municipalities, we realize the level of interplay between the municipalities on projects that affect two or all three of us,” said Chris Rearick, Jackson Township manager.

One such problem area is German Street, which crosses between Jackson and Harmony. Sometimes, during rain events, the township has to close the road due to flooding. The communities don't know if the water that affects that street is runoff from Route 68, Interstate 79 or some other road, or possibly a manufacturing site.

That's what the study aims to do: find a problem so the municipalities can address it.

“There could be opportunities where we could find some feasible types of mitigation that minimize the runoff,” Rearick said. “We may not be able to solve the problem from a 100-year storm, but for a less catastrophic event, we could mitigate the flooding or find a way to do so.”

Another priority area that interplays between Jackson and Harmony is Evergreen Mill Road, which intersects with Mercer Road on the north side of the Connoquenessing Creek.

Jackson and Zelienople both identified as a priority Glade Run, a smaller body of water that flows between the communities. Another priority identified by Jackson Township was along Textor Hill Road, which intersects with Hartmann Road near both boroughs.

“We've had stormwater issues there historically that have increased, and we have the opportunity to receive an easement … for basically an outlet for stormwater,” Rearick said.

Don Pepe, Zelienople borough manager, said the borough's identified priorities are all watershed improvements, which do not interfere with stormwater-related projects Zelienople had already identified within its own boundaries.

And like Rearick, Pepe said he is glad this has finally become a formal and intergovernmental issue.

“Having discussions like this is super. And it's long overdue, and I'm glad we're doing it. The only way we can control stormwater is on a regional basis,” he said. “This affects a lot of people, and we're making a lot of headway where municipalities are finally talking to each other.”