Bucks flood mitigation project is completed

LANGHORNE After spending about $27 million in federal grant money and elevating more than 100 homes along the Neshaminy Creek, Bucks County has completed its largest flood mitigation program in recent memory, officials said.

The 10-year-plus effort, funded by the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), commenced after Hurricane Floyd flooded the Neshaminy in 1999, damaging dozens of homes that were built in the flood plain.

The cost was originally projected at $15 million, but rose in part due to increased construction costs, although $8 million in stimulus funds softened the blow.

A ceremony marking the formal end of the program will be held Tuesday at 10 a.m. on Bridle Drive in Langhorne. Bucks County's commissioners, U.S. Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R., Bucks), the projects engineer and some homeowners will attend.

"Overall, it's been a very successful program," said Kevin Spencer, project manager of the county's General Services Division, which administered the program. "Some of the houses that had substantial damage before, all they had to do was clean out the lower level of the house with a hose during the last flood." - Ben Finley