In the meantime, Page keeps a checklist on her phone for the family’s “go bag.” The bag includes snacks for her husband, who has Type 1 diabetes, and Nate, as well as litter for the family’s two cats. We know how much it costs, but we still do not build the projects that would make the town even a little bit safer to live and sleep in,” Walsh said.
#ELLICOTT CITY FLOOD POST UPDATE#
Howard County spokesperson Scott Peterson said Tuesday that the county would provide an update on the plan Aug. “That takes a toll on you.”īall has said he wants the Ellicott City Safe and Sound Plan implemented by 2025, but, as of now, there is no clear timeline. “I don’t have any sense that our government is going to move quickly enough to help us in any substantial way,” Page said.
While the bureaucratic processes of constructing a tunnel and razing buildings take time, Ellicott City residents say they’re stuck waiting for long-term solutions to a continual problem. “With climate change, we have more of a challenge in helping the town, but I believe that the projects the county is building will help meet the challenge that climate change is giving us.” That town has been there 250 years, and it’s one of the few remaining historic whole streetscapes,” Watson said. “There’s a lot of desire across the state to preserve this town and its history. This year, that resulted in $8.25 million in funding for the plan. Courtney Watson, a Democrat who represents Ellicott City, said her job is to squeeze as much money from the state to pay for the Safe and Sound Plan as possible. To complete the demolition and removal process of the 10 buildings, the county needs to complete the federal Section 106 process, which assesses concerns surrounding historic preservation.ĭel. In April, the county acquired the final of the 10 total properties needed to proceed with the demolition phase of the Safe and Sound Plan.
The Army Corps compiled a detailed report examining the flood reduction management strategies, ultimately finding the county followed a “sound process” in its plans. The conclusions from that process were presented at a public meeting in March. Army Corps of Engineers had to complete an independent evaluation. The tunnel, running parallel to Main Street, would divert water cascading into the steep-sided valley during storms.īefore the county could raze the four buildings and tear down back portions of another six, the U.S. A tunnel, 15 feet in diameter and 80 to 100 feet deep, from Lot F off Ellicott Mills Drive to the Patapsco River, is set to be constructed. The Safe and Sound Plan would demolish four buildings and leave an average water depth of 3 feet on lower Main Street should a flood similar to 2016 happen again. In May 2019, Democratic County Executive Calvin Ball selected a $140 million flood mitigation plan from five potential proposals to ease future flooding. How do we impress upon him the seriousness of this when it happens so regularly?”įlood damage on historic Main Street in Ellicott City seen from above. “I know for a fact that it’s going to affect Nate at some point, too. “The thing I’m really concerned about is the emotional stress on Nate as he gets older,” Page said. Page, who lives in the West End section of Ellicott City, was pregnant during the 2018 flood. “Now, there’s a little one here, and we have to make sure we have everything for him and we get to a safe place before it gets dangerous.”Ĭhristina Page also has a young son to worry about: her 19-month-old, Nate. “In the past, we would have easily rode it out,” Shoemaker said. “We dodged a bullet on this one, it’s going to happen again,” said County Council Vice Chair Liz Walsh, who represents Ellicott City.ĭuring the 2018 flood, Shoemaker was at his business with his father when the rain started his wife, Marguerite Buzza, and Tommy were at home. The ability to prepare for potential damage and flooding makes a difference, Hinson said.
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