Ellicott City Residents Say Flood Mitigation Plan Failed

ELLICOTT CITY, MD — Not even two weeks ago, heavy rain fell in Ellicott City. Officials hoped the city's flood prevention plan would work as they intended. It did...but not completely. Howard County officials credit the plan for minimizing flooding but residents say that's not the case and that they still experienced considerable flooding.

In just three years, Ellicott City has been inundated with rain leading to historic flooding. That prompted Howard County Executive Calvin Ball to initiate the “Safe and Sound Flood Mitigation and Public Safety Plan.” Even though it's still in its early stages, the plan was put to the test when more than two inches of rain fell Halloween night. There was some flooding, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been, officials say. Residents disagree.

“Around 10:15 p.m. the water in the West End overran its banks and we had to close down Main Street from Rogers Avenue to the county line but, luckily, we were able to reopen it shortly after," Ball reported.

One reason why it wasn't worse is because four tons of debris had already been removed from the waterway, which was part of the plan, Ball said.

“Tree limbs, rocks, things of that nature that clog up the ability for the water to flow more freely,” Ball told WTOP. “So, by continuing to keep that clean, the work we’ve done upstream, we’ve begun to prepare much better than we were. Our Safe and Sound Plan is a five-year plan, so it’s going to take five fiscal years to work through."

Christina Allen Page reached out to Patch and said she is a Main Street resident. She, along with her neighbors, heard an airhorn sounding at 11 p.m. as a signal that neighbor Wendy Pidel's culvert was full and overflowing. In fact, it filled her driveway up to the hubcaps of her vehicle. Page's basement filled with water, too.

Page said everyone in the neighborhood stays in contact during times like this, sharing photos of the river as it crept closer to their homes. They all confer as to when they should abandon hope and flee to higher ground. The warning system just doesn't work, she noted.

"I put my two cats in carriers, packed two days of supplies for my infant son and diabetic husband, and my husband began to prep the car for evacuation. Water was running fast over our front curb. We got within five minutes of evacuating because the situation was becoming dire very quickly. It was only because the storm stopped precisely when it did that the situation was not severely worse. My husband spent the next day pumping out our basement. No sirens went off," Page said.

The sirens Page referenced are designed to alarm people on the street when it's time to evacuate. However, she said they sound when a flash flood warning is in effect and usually by that time, the water is coursing along too quickly to safely escape.

"There are no evacuation notices for the residents or the people in the businesses. We're on our own, which is why we stay in such close contact," she said.

Other residents echoed Page's concerns on Ball's Facebook page where he posted updates about the situation.

"We should have been on a warning. You should see the video. Stay tuned. Not feeling #safeandsound tonight," posted Leeza Ennis.

Howard County Council Member Liz Walsh also took to Facebook to express her concerns about the flooding and lack of warnings to residents.

"Old Ellicott City’s West End flooded last night. Again. So many times in so little time. So did Sylvan Lane. And New Cut. Neighbors checked in with one another. Compared the ferocity and pitch of rushing water, behind, around, beneath their homes. In the dark. Where loved ones and old friends and pets and everything is. Still is. Still. Moved cars from the street. Stared at camera feeds and telltale rocks and other markers in the channel beds. Anguished about what to do, when to do it. Again. I do not want to hear the retelling of last night any different than it actually was. I will not," she wrote.