It aims to divert Tiber Creek, which in the past two floods had become a river of floating cars, building materials and miscellaneous debris. The plan is estimated to cost $40 million to $50 million, and the county is seeking financial and technical assistance from the state and federal governments, according to the proposal. “We could spend $80 million, and some areas could be slightly improved, others could be significantly improved … but in the studies (of alternatives) they always showed an 8-foot wall of water going down lower Main Street,” DeLuca told the commission. Many people have criticized the fact that the county has been studying the flooding problem for years without action, but now there is a sense of urgency, DeLuca said. “I urge you to thoroughly please discuss and analyze treatment options that don’t start by cutting the town off at its knees,” Valin said.Īfter the 2016 flood, Howard County hired a civil engineering firm, McCormick Taylor Inc., to “analyze projects suggested by the community, as well as by other engineers, so that all flood mitigation options would receive careful and deliberate review and consideration,” according to county documents. The new plan had been described by officials as a surgical approach, but it’s is more like an amputation, Valin told the historic commission. “Saving lives and saving buildings should not be diametrically opposed,” Marjorie Valin of Columbia, Maryland, remarked during the public comment portion of the preservation commission meeting. The county’s recommendation to demolish buildings in the heart of Ellicott City’s historic district has evoked a mixture of reactions from county residents, historical preservationists and local business people. The county explored several plans to reroute the stormwater before setting on the proposal to raze buildings, DeLuca said. The commission must grant a Certificate of Approval before Howard County can proceed with the demolition, according to the proposal and statements made by officials during the hearing. “The master plan and any proposed removal of structures within the Historic District require the Historic Preservation Commission to review,” according to the proposal. The county’s plan presentation was preliminary, aimed at getting feedback, according to county officials. Howard County’s chosen plan is called the Expanded Stream Channel Model. Nichols and Mark DeLuca, deputy director of Howard County’s Department of Public Works, presented the flood mitigation proposal to a Howard County Historic Preservation Commission meeting last week in Ellicott City. “We believe this plan is the best way save lives,” Howard County Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Phil Nichols told Capital News Service. The county’s recommendation to remove the buildings is “a core component that would address the most immediate life safety threat on the town’s lower Main Street within one year,” according to the plan. There are two primary elements to the county’s new mitigation strategy: first, to retain more water higher up in the watershed and second, expand the floodplain throughout the town so that the destructive force of the water is lessened.

Three people died there in a similar flash flood on July 30, 2016. Others say it’s long overdue.Įxtensive rainfall on May 27, 2018, caused catastrophic flooding throughout Howard County one person died in Ellicott City, where the downtown was quickly overtaken by flood waters. Some residents and historic preservationists are concerned that the plan goes too far and has been pushed through too quickly. An estimated seven homes in the West End of the city could also be razed.Ĭounty officials see the plan as their best option to save lives and prevent further flood damage. The county’s proposal includes razing a row of 10 tall, brick row buildings dating to the 1800s along the south side of Main Street, the path of the most damaging flood water. Fletcher/Capital News Service)ĮLLICOTT CITY, Maryland - Opinions are flowing in divergent directions over a five-year flood mitigation plan for Ellicott City, Maryland, that Howard County officials announced last week. Portalli’s restaurant, located on Main Street for more than 40 years, and Shoemaker Country, which just celebrated its 10-year anniversary, are two of several businesses that will have to relocate or go out of business – Tuesday, Sept.

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