Joan Longworth's whole life is her restaurant in Jermyn. She almost lost it in 2003 when the nearby Rushbrook Creek flooded.
"18 years, September 4, 2003, the day I'll never forget. It changed my life forever," Longworth said. "Everything in the basement was completely destroyed."
Longworth and many of her neighbors in Jermyn sustained serious property damage in 2003. In 2008, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection started working on a plan to fix the damage and prevent future flooding.
All these years later, flooding victims, including Longworth's Family Restaurant, are still waiting.
"Because every time it rains and rains heavy, Joanie has to step back and say, 'It's not going to happen,'" Patti Webber said.
Now it appears that the flood control project is happening. Officials with the borough say the DEP finally has the permits to move forward.
Rushbrook Creek runs through Jermyn. The DEP will stabilize the banks for about half a mile of it and replace some culverts.
Jermyn has a lot of bridges for a small borough. Most of them run over Rushbrook Creek and still show damage from 2003.
The plan is to replace five of the bridges, including one on Madison Avenue.
"It's about time," said Bill Tyriw. "Tired of these closed streets."
Back at Longworth's, there's a little bit of hope.
"It's going to help everyone," Jerry Tonti said. "Everyone's property's going to be a little more valuable because they have the protection. They know they're not going to get flooded again."
There is still some waiting to do. Borough officials say DEP crews are required to have the flood control project finished by the end of 2026.
But after 18 years already, Longworth says another five doesn't sound too bad.
"It's been crazy. Sometimes you don't think about it. When I got up this morning, and I saw it on Facebook, I said, 'Wow, I can't believe it's been 18 years.' Just glad for a lot of people that this is finally getting finished."