WEST SENECA, NY - You may remember this past winter, folks in West Seneca were devastated by two floods in just two months.
One company that was flooded at the time claims the Erie County sewer system was at fault for property damage it had.
WS Empire is a West Seneca based company that operates an industrial campus on Empire Drive, which is just north of Buffalo Creek.
This past winter, the Lexington Green area of the town, across the creek from Empire Drive was flooded twice by creek water.
In a notice of claim against Erie County, WS Empire believes the county's responsible for flooding and damage that was done to the company's property in February.
The company says, "the severe flooding in the area creates unsanitary and unhealthy conditions." And that, the county has failed to maintain the drainage system around the property.
The company also believes the county is responsible for flooding damage as far back as June 2013 and as recently as this past May -- and that average rainfall constantly causes problems.
Although the company is located in West Seneca, it isn't served by the town's sewer system.
Erie County's sewer system is split up into different districts. And WS Empire is served by one of those county districts.
West Seneca Supervisor Sheila Meegan has been monitoring the repair of the town's sewer lines. In recent years, the town has had chronic problems with sewage backing up into homes. The town is currently within a five-year project to fix its sewer system at an estimated $70 million. The project should be complete in 2017.
"Once that's in the completion stages we're hoping that the County of Erie will take the sewers on and the town will be out of the sewer business," said Meegan.
By that time, WS Empire hopes its flooding issues are over. The company says through its attorney that progress is being made with West Seneca and the county to resolve the company's flooding issues. A spokesperson for the county had no comment on the claim, citing the pending litigation.
The claim says that the company is looking for damages nowhere under $10,000. The company doesn't give a specific amount that it's looking for.
