For years the Ithaca Housing Authority (IHA) staff and residents have had to endure countless floods just from a common rain.  IHA’s Titus Towers (TT) property had an insufficient drainage system with too few and undersized pipes.  See pictures.

Even a normal rain would cause the Titus Towers 2  (TTII) parking lot to flood and left the TTII entrance unusable.  Maintenance workers also suffered through hours of having to move resident’s vehicles from the flooded parking lot and stacking sandbags to prevent the water from damaging IHA property. 

            In April of 2007, the IHA began a $552,000 Storm Water project which was funded solely by its Capital Fund money.  The project consisted of replacing all of the old drainage piping with a larger quantity of bigger pipes.  The new drainage pipes take advantage of a gravity fed system which pushes the water to the creek behind Titus Towers.  The parking lots were raised and the TTII entranceway was rebuilt to correct settling that had occurred over the years. The TTII entranceway renovation included an attractive new set of stairs and sitting area. 

The old TTII entrance developed a terrible slope from unstable ground settling which is why a new one was necessary to correct it.  This is largely due in part to the fact that the TT buildings were built on a low-lying area. 

Since the storm water project’s completion, the IHA has not had any problems with flooding; and the system has worked the way it was designed.  The new entrance to TTII looks better than anyone had imagined and creates another great spot for elderly residents to sit and mingle.  The project was a great success and the absence of flooding creates more time for employees to direct their attention to other important matters that reflect the best interests of their Public Housing and Section 8 programs.