Washington County's Tara Galati Blames PennDOT as Flooding Threatens Livelihood

• Tara Galati, a business owner in Washington County, claims that her livelihood is in danger due to frequent floodin
• Her store is susceptible to stormwater runoff because it is situated downhill from a highway and a creek

A business owner in Washington County is crying out for help after frequent flooding has endangered everything she owns — and is faulting PennDOT.

Tara Galati, owner of “Galati Landscaping” on Vance Station Road in South Strabane Township, has reported that her building always gets flooded whenever it rains. Downhill from a creek and road, her storefront is overwhelmed by stormwater that cascades over the road and flows directly into her building.

"Likely raging rapids coming onto the road and into our building," Tara said. She had provided recent images of water inundating the road, rushing into her garage, and destroying her equipment. She says the long-term cost to her business has become too much to bear. “I’ve lost a fortune,” Tara said. “I’m losing my business, my building, everything — because of PennDOT’s neglect over the last eight years.”

Even after repeatedly requesting that PennDOT fix the drainage problem — proposing a bigger pipe or better infrastructure — Tara said she's been greeted with inactivity or being told to just put in some gravel. Although PennDOT put in a stormwater swale and stone last year to redirect runoff, Tara indicated that it did little to change things when the next big rainstorm rolled through.

Now, local township officials are standing in her corner. North Franklin Township Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Sabot said plugged pipes and uncontrolled stormwater on state roads have been an issue for a long time. "We complained about this for years," Sabot said. "If the water doesn't have a means of travel through the state roads, it's going to back up and flood local areas."

PennDOT engineers were said to have inspected the site again on Monday to evaluate the most recent damage. Tara hopes this visit leads to actual solutions — not simply another inspection.