Dewey approves several flood mitigation projects

Dewey Beach Town Council approved funding for several projects related to floodwater mitigation around town during its Aug. 15 meeting.

The first, a pump station project on Read Avenue in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, involves installing a small pump to manage drainage on the street. 

“This project has been a long time coming,” Town Manager Bill Zolper said. “There’s been continuous flooding problems down on Read Avenue on the bayside for a number of years.”

With the current system, water from many of the town’s streets runs to the stormwater outfall on Read Avenue, causing backups and flooding. When the highway floods, emergency vehicles can’t get through.

The project’s total cost is estimated around $1.33 million, with the Town of Dewey Beach responsible for 25% of the design and construction costs, and the USACE responsible for the remaining balance. The corps is currently in the process of outlining an integral determination report, which will identify potential in-kind credits to be applied to the town’s portion of the cost.

According to the USACE’s Peter Gori, while the corps is technically in charge of designing the project, the town will be part of the review process and will be able to provide input on desired results.

Upon passing a resolution to approve the use of up to $330,000 in infrastructure account funds to execute the project, the council added a condition requiring the final design to maintain public access to the Read Avenue bayside kayak launch. This condition was suggested at the meeting by Read Avenue resident David Moskowitz. 

Council also approved a resolution to use up to $71,500 of the town’s infrastructure account funds to execute a flood mitigation project on Dickinson Avenue bayside, another street that frequently floods.

Currently, Dickinson Avenue has only one stormwater pipe that runs underneath the baywalk and out into the bay.

This project, proposed by Beacon Engineering, would entail removing a portion of the sidewalk to install a precast concrete vault holding a backwater valve. The vault would be installed in such a way that the town could access both sides of the valve for cleaning and maintenance, thereby greatly reducing the risk of failure due to blockage.

The project’s total cost estimate ranges from $61,500 to $71,500. Bob Palmer of Beacon Engineering said a more precise estimate will be available once they get into the design process and determine what infrastructure, if any, is in the way, and what they need to do to get around it.