Strongsville Neighborhood Hit Hard by Flooding

More than a dozen homes in Strongsville's northwest corner suffered flooded basements after a thunderstorm last week -- many for the second time in two years.

"I'm nervous going to sleep at night when it gets cloudy," said Kevin Gulden, whose home on Montclare Boulevard flooded for the third time last week.

He and a number of residents in the Meadowood-Jonathan Drive area begged City Council for a solution Monday night, saying the damage has cost them tens of thousands of dollars.

"Right now, our property value is zero," said Lisa Lambert of Albion Road.

A thunderstorm late June 25 sent water cascading through the Meadowood area, flooding roads and trapping cars on Albion, Creekside and Pebble Brook Lane. 

The water overflowed the storm sewers and gushed into homes. For many, it was a nightmarish flashback to July 2011, when a torrential rainstorm that dumped more than 5 inches of water on the area caused similar home flooding.

On Rock Creek Circle, four families spent $66,000 to clean the mess from their homes in 2011, residents said. Now, they're facing similar costs to replace furnaces, water heaters and furnishings.

"Everything in the basement is trashed," said Mark Jones of Montclare Boulevard.

Last year, Strongsville spent $250,000 to replace a culvert on Pebble Brook Lane to try to thwart future floods.

But Anthony Belfi of Pebble Brook Lane told council it's clear the project did not work.

"Somebody needs to step up to the plate," he said. "Somebody needs to help us."

Ted Barto, president of the Meadowood Homeowners' Association, agreed, saying he had been pleased with the culvert installation -- until last week.

"It did not handle the storm," Barto said. "It was less rain in quantity (than two years ago), but the damage was more."

Service Director Joe Walker said crews found two major blockages in Blodgett Creek that might have caused the flooding, and said an overflow conduit on Pebble Brook became blocked with debris during the storm. 

City Engineer Ken Mikula said he is still investigating exactly what caused the flooding and is looking into short and long-term solutions.

Short-term fixes include clearing blockages in the drainage system and removing a grate that clogged the emergency overflow system on Pebble Brook. 

Ward 3 Councilman Jim Carbone, who visited most of the flooded homes last week, promised residents the city would find a solution.

"We're not taking this lightly," he said. "We're going to try to rectify the situation."