Quaker Mill Flood Mitigation Pond Project Underway In Howard County

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Officials have broken ground on the Quaker Mill Flood Mitigation Pond, an Ellicott City Safe and Sound project deemed as critical. Once finished, this project will provide approximately 10-acre-feet of water storage, the equivalent of almost 3.3 million gallons.

The Quaker Mill Pond is the second retention and conveyance project slated to mitigate flooding that is now underway, while four other projects are in the design phase. Construction on Quaker Mill Pond is anticipated to take approximately 15 months.

“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 floodwater in Historic Ellicott City and preserve the historic nature of our town,” Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said. “The Quaker Mill Pond is 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.”

Of the estimated $2.8 million in project costs, $2.1 million in state funding will be provided to support this project through the Maryland Department of the Environment’s comprehensive food mitigation grant program.