KINSMAN — Township trustees are waiting to hear from the Trumbull County Engineer’s Office on what is causing excessive flooding in the township and what can be done to rectify the problem.

Trustee Chairman Greg Leonhard said at a recent trustees meeting he and road department workers have checked areas where there has been a lot of flooding, noting some trees had fallen over and were blocking the culverts on the side of some roads, which led to the culverts filling up with water. The trees have been removed.

Trustees in March hosted a public meeting with several agencies and residents to address the flooding issues.

The county engineer’s office, through a local government funding source, has been doing a study of the grounds from the east side of Ridge Road across state Route 87 and down to Kinsman Nickerson Road. Trustees said the study will look at old culverts and old pipes.

Major flooding has occurred on Elm Street, Kinsman Nickerson Road, Church Street, Yoder Street and Main Street.

Leonhard said the water comes from higher elevated Ridge Road and Church Street, goes under the old school property, crosses Main Street and then heads south to Kinsman Nickerson Road, and Yoder and Elm streets.

Resident Ralph Barker of Kinsman Nickerson Road said at the March meeting the excessive flooding has created a safety problem.

He said water comes down from a nearby hill and goes across the road and stays there, often reaching several inches of water on Kinsman Nickerson Road, east of the intersection of Warrensville Kinsman Road. Barker said the ditches on the sides of the road are also flooded.

“There is so much water that people driving on the road do not realize how deep it is. It looks like a river. I have seen some cars hydroplane to get through. I am surprised cars have not gone off the sides of the road,” Barker said at the March meeting.

Road Superintendent Vince Peterson said he believes the ditches do not drain fast enough following heavy rain. He said there is also muddy water coming from the nearby creek that overflows and doesn’t drain fast enough.

Leonhard said John Hickey, director of the Trumbull County Emergency Management Agency, was able to take drone footage of the township that helped identify the main flooding areas. He said most of the flooding is around Kinsman Nickerson Road and south of that location.