NORWOOD, Ohio — It’s not every day that you see happy tears being shed over a sewer project.
But in Norwood, it’s easy to understand why.
For three decades, a Norwood neighborhood has battled flooding time and time again. A $2.3 million sewer project from the city and Hamilton County promises to end years of water damage and worry.
Jennifer Pence couldn't hold back tears at the groundbreaking ceremony for the flood elimination project on Maple Avenue.
"To be here and be a part of it, it means the world to me," Pence said.
Watch Pence explain what the project will mean for her neighborhood:
The emotional reaction is understandable when you see what Pence and her neighbors have endured during heavy rains. Our previous reporting from 2016 and 2021 shows water rushing through the neighborhood, turning streets into rivers and damaging homes.
"I want to thank you, Mayor Schneider, for finally making this happen," Pence said after being called up to the microphone during the ceremony.
NORWOOD, OHIO. Aug. 28, 2016. Street flooding near Elsmere and Ashland avenues in Norwood, Ohio
The project, which is expected to be completed by November 2026, will install larger pipes and direct water into a controlled retention basin.
Clint Zimmerman, Norwood Public Works superintendent, said the finished project will mostly be out of view from residents.
“It will back up into that retention basin as designed, but it should flow out at a steady pace, over the course of an hour, hour and a half, on typical large, heavy rain,” Zimmerman said.
Public Works had to relocate some public utilities to make way for the larger pipe.
Watch our previous reporting of flooding in the neighborhood:
Norwood Mayor Victor Schneider acknowledged the long wait residents have endured.
"I know it's been a long time coming, and you've had probably a lot of sleepless nights, and every time a storm comes through, you wonder if it's going to be flooding your home,” Schneider said. “Hopefully this, it's an end to some of those worries, and you can rest easy."
For Pence, the moment was bittersweet. Her late parents lived with the flooding problems for years, but didn't live to see the solution.
"To see this finally happen, it's just, I feel like they'd both be proud of me for getting this done," said Pence.
