Construction Begins On New Flood Mitigation Pond In Ellicott City

ELLICOTT CITY, MD — Construction began Wednesday on improvements to a flood mitigation pond as part of Ellicott City's Safe and Sound plan.

Construction to expand and improve the Quaker Mill Flood Mitigation Pond is expected to take about 15 months, according to a news release from Howard County Executive Calvin Ball. The project is located at the corner of Rogers Avenue and Patapsco River Road.

The Quaker Mill Pond project will be able to store nearly 3.3 million gallons of water, the news release said. This is the second ongoing project meant to reduce flooding; four more projects are in the design phase. The first flood mitigation pond is the H7 pond.

The overall Safe and Sound plan, which Ball developed, "is a multi-phase plan built around the need for public safety, supporting business and property owners, preparing the county for a changing climate, and creating a more inclusive, community driven process for decisions regarding Ellicott City’s future."

“Our goal since adopting the Ellicott City Safe and Sound plan in December 2018 has been to keep our residents and visitors safe, reduce the amount and velocity of flood water in Historic Ellicott City, and preserve the historic nature of our town,” said Ball in the news release. “The Quaker Mill Pond our second retention and conveyance project this year alone which will help mitigate flooding under our Ellicott City Safe and Sound Plan and will reduce peak flow rates from the site for the 100-year storm by approximately 30 percent.”