Analysis: Pittsburgh Neglected Flood Risk And Consultant Is Target
Mike Palese, spokesman for Chrysler Group, says the drowning deaths are tragic. “This was certainly a tragedy, and we are saddened by it,” he says, adding that the company stands behind the vehicle.
“According to the lawsuit, the vehicle was under nine feet of water. There are not vehicles other than submarines that would operate under these conditions,” Palese says. "The 2006 Chrysler Town & Country minivan meets or exceeds all applicable federal safety standards and has an excellent safety record."
Who is Liable?
The lawsuit tells a story about infrastructure neglect and spreads the liability in several directions.
For example, it says that when Washington Boulevard was constructed, it was built over streams and channels that ran down the boulevard to the river. After that the city built its unitary, combined sewer and storm water system, it installed two large sewer pipes along the boulevard to the Allegheny River to handle the combined wastewater from the sewers that serve Washington Boulevard, including the stormwater that enters during heavy rainfalls.
As originally constructed, the wastewater in those sewer pipes was ultimately dispersed directly into the Allegheny River. According to the complaint, following construction of the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (ALCOSAN) wastewater treatment system in the late 1950s, the water was diverted into the ALCOSAN system of pipes at the base of Washington Boulevard for conveyance to and ultimate treatment at the system's plant in the Woods Run section of Pittsburgh.
Even before that, "it was clear to defendants that their failure to properly manage the flow of storm water on Washington Boulevard and the newly run watershed during heavy rain posed a risk to safety and life," the lawsuit claims.
"The defendants willfully failed to correct life threatening condition for more than sixty years."
Since 1951, city fathers repeatedly promised to prepare to do something about it.
The lawsuit claims that Chester Engineers Inc. is liable as the consulting engineer and the de facto operator of ALCOSAN.
No doubt this will be the subject of controversy if the case is tried in court.
