Though the community of Mayfield hasn’t had a flood for decades, residents are now shelling out thousands for flood insurance.
MAYFIELD, Pa. — Editors note: A previous version of this story indicated a $2.3 million federal grant was awarded to Mayfield Borough for the completion of a levee project. While the borough has been awarded a grant to clean the river of vegetation, the article has been updated to reflect that a possible $2.3 million grant has not yet been awarded.
Mayfield Borough officials tell Newswatch 16 that water from the nearby Lackawanna River hasn’t threatened this community in more than 50 years.
Despite a significant levee, many of the homes and businesses are now considered to be in the flood plain, and that distinction is costing them.
The Lackawanna River flows gently on the outskirts of Mayfield, the water seldom rising up the walls of the levee that stretches more than a mile and a half.
Mayor Al Chelik says the borough has seen significant flooding once, back in the early 1960s, but since the levee was installed, it hasn’t flooded at all.
Still, FEMA says the levee doesn’t meet its criteria and recently changed the floodplain to
