PARMA HEIGHTS, Ohio — After several years of flooding, property damage and delays, Parma Heights residents are getting some relief.
Construction will soon be underway on the Nathan Hale Park retention basin project.
It's a major, multi-million dollar community investment to stop flooding issues in the area.
This project has been six years in the making but was held up repeatedly by the federal government.
Construction equipment is now in place and crews are ready to transform the park.
Residents told News 5 they are feeling hopeful their days of cleaning up are finally behind them.
"Four driveways, just water was pouring down like a river," James Dufala said.
Dufala says his stomach would drop every time strong storms and heavy rains rolled through his Parma Heights Neighborhood.
He has called Meadowbrook Drive home for 45 years.
And when it rains—it pours—causing serious flooding and property damage for many living nearby.
He's spent countless hours cleaning water out of his basement.
"Three floods have happened here. Everybody here put backflows in. A lot of money," Dufala said.
Those backflows are visible in nearly every front yard on the street.
A more than $4 million project is in the works at Nathan Hale Park just steps away from Dufala's home to fix the flooding problem permanently.
City leaders say the retention basin could be a game changer.
"The work will begin on the farthest corner, and then they'll move out," Marie Gallo, Mayor of Parma Heights said.
Gallo says she made flooding solutions a priority when she took office in January 2022, and the previous administration put in hard work dating all the way back to 2017.
"It just provides me a lot of relief because it's terrible to have flooding and you lose memories. It costs a lot of money for these residents. So, I'm just very happy we can get to a point to help," said Gallo.
News 5 was there as community leaders held a groundbreaking ceremony at the site last week.
In the weeks ahead, crews will transform a baseball field, soccer fields, and an old building into a six-acre retention basin.
It's said to prevent flooding to the 400 nearby homes by diverting roughly 250 acres of upstream drainage area right into the basin.
The project will not increase taxes and is being paid through ARPA funds, grants, and other means.
Once all is said and done, the park will be a multi-use recreational space and feature educational plaques, a gazebo, plants, benches, and amenities the whole community can take advantage of for years to come.
"We received a $150,000 grant from the State of Ohio to put a recreational trail around the basin so we're super excited about that," said Gallo.
Dufala says it's a big investment, but he's hopeful it will pay off in the long term.
"I'm just happy it's getting done... Everybody here is really probably a joy."
The Nathan Hale Park retention basin project will be completed in about seven to nine months.
It can hold up to 11 million gallons of stormwater.
