Ellicott City Flood Prevention Plan Calls For Tunnel, More

ELLICOTT CITY, MD — A month after presenting several options to address flooding in Ellicott City, Howard County Executive Calvin Ball reported Monday that he selected what he said was a "long-term solution," a decision he made with input from citizens. The plan calls for construction of a tunnel and acquisition of four buildings on lower Main Street, among other measures, to reduce the amount of water in the event of heavy rain in the historic downtown district.

"The time for band-aid fixes is over," Ball said, echoing language he said community members used in sharing their thoughts on the path forward. "This is a long-term solution."

Ball presented five possible flood mitigation plans in April for public comment and asked for feedback, which he said he got on the Ellicott City Safe and Sound website, at a May 2 public meeting at Howard High School and by email. Based on public feedback, Ball said that he heard from residents that their priorities were "public safety and a plan that is not just a band-aid."

Known as Option 3, the plan he selected will cost $113,500,000 to $140,500,000, according to Howard County officials.

"If we could address these issues cheaply and easily, over the last 250 years it would have been done," Ball said. "Our plan costs less than rebuilding repeated times after storms," he added. "We will no longer rent a temporary solution. We will buy a permanent one."

Main Street in Ellicott City has been recovering from two floods that swept through the area since 2016, and officials noted there had been others before that.

More than 8 inches of rain fell on May 27, 2018, flooding businesses, washing away roads, cars and infrastructure and killing one person.

It was the second fatal flood in as many years for Ellicott City. During the flood of July 30, 2016, two people died when their vehicles were picked up in the floodwaters as the National Weather Service reported 6.6 inches of rain accumulated in old Ellicott City. A business owner also died in September 2016 as he fell from his building, Precious Gifts, while making repairs from the flood.

During the flooding, Ball said there was 4.5 feet of water on Main Street.

"Our plan will decrease that to less than a foot," he said, speaking at a press conference about the plan at the George Howard building on Monday, May 13.

The "Option 3" plan calls for the following:

• Issuing a request for proposals to design and build the "North Tunnel"
• Acquiring and demolishing four buildings (Phoenix Emporium, Discoveries, Bean Hollow and Great Panes)
• Constructing culverts along Maryland Avenue
• Acquiring West End properties
• Creating a mitigation pond at Quaker Mill
• Finishing design of the Emory and Church Street drainage improvements

"It is the plan to make Ellicott City safe and sound," Ball said.

The goal would be to complete planning in 2020 and to execute the plan within five years — by 2025 — according to the county executive.

"That's an ambitious, best-case scenario," Ball said as a caveat.

He said experts with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would also conduct an independent review of the plan.

What Is The Tunnel?

One of the keys to lowering the water level on Main Street is the plan to build a tunnel.

"During certain rainstorms, really [the Hudson stream] turns into a raging river and causes a lot of flooding on the street [and] through the buildings," Howard County Deputy Director of Public Works Mark DeLuca said at Monday's press conference. Meandering under buildings and roads, it "almost presents no solution for mitigation without really changing the complexion of Main Street."

The county will put out a request for proposals for a tunnel that will carry water from Main Street without requiring totally ripping up the road.

Called the "North Tunnel," the underground structure will parallel but never really cross Main Street, according to DeLuca.

The 15-foot diameter bore will run 1,600 feet from Lot F to the Patapsco River on the north side of Main Street, according to plans on the Ellicott City Safe & Sound website.

The tunnel will "catch most of the overflow," DeLuca said. He emphasized that the tunnel was one element of a multifaceted approach to reducing flooding in Ellicott City.

"There are no silver bullets to flooding on Main Street. No one single project is going to mitigate all the flood water all by itself," DeLuca said. "What this option represents is...it lowers water on Main Street and it preserves the buildings most effectively out of all the options, for the cost."

Property Acquisitions Are Ongoing

Acquisition of seven properties has been completed, according to the county executive.

"We're still working through the acquisition process," Ball said, with respect to the four on lower Main Street — the Phoenix, Discoveries, Bean Hollow and Great Panes.

Total demolition may not be necessary in some cases, such as Caplan's, officials said.

In April, Howard County officials said that they planned to demolish part of Caplan's as soon as possible because it was hazardous.

"We're pretty close...so we can proceed with the demolition of the part that has been a hazard," Howard County Director of Public Works Jim Irvin said as of Monday, May 13. The county will not take down the whole building, he said.

Once the county acquires buildings, it will begin the Section 106 process, which requires input from the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation in order to obtain federal funds for the project.

"Our goal would be to get them back into use by the public for commercial retail in the area but that can't happen until we feel it's safe to do that on a permanent basis," Irvin said, "based on the completion of the plan."

Howard County has been working with Historic District Commission in the acquisitions process.

It also created the Community Development Corporation Exploration Committee, which has been discussing the Safe and Sound plans and is meeting from 7 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 15, at the George Howard Building.

"As we're seeing with the changing climate, the more intense and frequent storms, we're seeing flooding issues all around the world," Ball said. "The world is watching how we address this issue and how we come together as a town to write the next chapter in that great story that's Ellicott City and that great story that's Howard County. I am confident that this is the plan, this is the town and this is our moment."

Read more on the Ellicott City Safe & Sound website.

RELATED:

• Future Of Ellicott City Will Require 'Immediate Steps': Ball
• Ellicott City Flood: 'Devastated, Heartbroken' By Roaring Waters

Watch the May 13 press conference announcing the plan: