Bay-front communities to receive drainage upgrades
Several bay-front communities will be getting some minor – but much-needed – drainage improvements, if construction funding is secured in the fiscal year 2017 budget.
Proposed Sussex County projects at a glance
Slaughter Beach
Number of projects proposed: 1
Priority rank (out of 10): 5
Cost: $147,000
Location: Passwaters Drive and Marina Lane
Scope of work: To pave and regrade about 200 feet of Passwaters Drive and install about 200 feet of drainage ditch. About 450 feet of Marina Lane will be regraded and about 450 feet of ditch will be installed north of the roadway.
Primehook Beach
Number of projects proposed: 1
Priority rank: 6
Cost: $94,000
Location: Shore Drive
Scope of work: To install at-grade drainage inlets and about 300 feet of storm drain pipe from 9282 Shore Drive to 9316 Shore Drive as needed, as well as connecting the storm drain system to the marsh by using 40 feet of pipe with outfall protection and a one-way check valve. Shore Drive will also be regraded and resurfaced as needed.
Broadkill Beach
Number of projects proposed: 3
Priority ranks: 7, 8 and 9
Cost: $37,000, $27,000 and $40,000
Locations: 1614 North Bay Shore Drive, 103 California Ave., and 6 and 7 Arizona Ave.
Scope of work: To install an at-grade drainage inlet on Bay Shore Drive north of a septic mound. That inlet will be connected to the marsh by using 25 feet of storm drain pipe. At the California Avenue site, about 130 feet of gravel roadway will be regraded to direct runoff to nearby vegetated areas. At the Arizona Avenue locations, the road will be regraded so rainfall runoff drains toward the south. A 3-foot-deep, 1-foot-wide, 50-foot-long gravel infiltration trench also will be added. An 8-inch perforated pipe is recommended to help distribute water within the system.
Lewes
Number of projects proposed: 1
Priority rank: 10
Cost: $66,000
Location: Intersection of Cape Henlopen Drive and Fort Lewes Court
Scope of work: To install an inlet and connect to an existing storm drain pipe. A 3-foot-deep, 2-foot-wide, 130-foot-long gravel infiltration trench also will be installed. An 8-inch perforated pipe to be installed in the gravel will connect to the proposed inlet by using 70 feet of storm drain pipe.
After analyzing drainage issues along Delaware Bay beach communities – from Pickering Beach south to Lewes – the state Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control has identified the top 10 proposed projects, most of which are set in Sussex County communities.
About $620,000 in small- and medium-sized drainage projects are planned in Pickering Beach, Kitts Hummock, Slaughter Beach, Primehook Beach, Broadkill Beach and Lewes, when funding is allocated from the 21st Century Fund, established in the 1990s to fund watershed and drainage improvements, as well as from other federal and state funding sources.
The communities evaluated, which make up about 11 miles of the 30 miles of coastal bay beaches, are also affected by marshes, rivers or canals. Frequent flooding is common, especially because of the flat topography of these areas, and it causes everything from minor disturbances of flooded front yards to washed out roads.
DNREC drainage Program Manager Brooks Cahall said just because a project isn't included in the first round of prioritized projects doesn't mean drainage and flooding issues in other communities, such as Bowers and South Bowers beaches, are going to go ignored.
“We're not just saying you're not in the top 10, we're not ever going to help you,” he said at a public meeting in December. “We're focused on these 10 for right now, and we will continue to work in these communities to find some solutions.”
As DNREC and Maryland-based consultant URS Corporation conducted field studies and reviewed hundreds of resident surveys and concerns, it was revealed that in many cases, other state agencies, such as the Department of Transportation, would have to spearhead cases where the best – and sometimes the only – option is to raise the road. Other options included projects that could be handled and funded by individual municipalities or homeowners.
The top 10 proposed projects are expected to alleviate problems during nuisance events, but are not expected to have significant impact when large storms inundate these areas.
While dozens of problems were identified along bay beach communities, the following projects have been prioritized based on need, cost and feasibility: One $50,000 project in Pickering Beach; three projects totaling $155,000 in Kitts Hummock; one $147,000 project in Slaughter Beach; a $94,000 project in Primehook Beach; three projects totaling $104,000 in Broadkill Beach; and a $66,000 project in Lewes.
For more information, go to http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/swc/Pages/DrainageTaxDitchWaterMgt.aspx.
