Project ends flooding on Bayard Avenue

Bayard Avenue in Dewey Beach is safer for residents, visitors and the environment after a $900,000 project was completed to reduce drainage problems on the road.  Flooding on Bayard Avenue has inconvenienced Dewey Beach property owners since the town was incorporated 30 years ago.  Many residents have said the problem created safety issues in the most affected areas.

Infrastructure committee Chairman Rick Judge said flooding in the area had become a matter of public safety.  He recalled an incident that occurred on Bayard in which a man was in need of an ambulance, but because of flooding, the ambulance could not reach him.

Judge facilitated installation of the new drainage system along with Mike Cotten of Cotten Engineering and contractor Mumford and Miller.  Judge said he hopes they have created a greener, flood resistant, safe and aesthetically pleasing solution to the area's flooding problem.

At a July town council meeting, Mayor Diane Hanson said some residents had complained about a few glitches in the finished project.  Town Manager Diana Smith told council at the meeting that she and Judge would tour the site and examine each complaint.

Judge says any complaints have been addressed and residents have greeted him on the street with thanks.  "For the rain events and high tides we've had, it works perfectly," Judge said.

Hanson toured the site with Judge Aug. 9.  "When you first do something, there's going to be glitches," she said.  "We've got it all corrected."

Potholes and puddles are a thing of the past on Bayard.  The road was raised anywhere from four to seven inches by applying an 1800-foot stretch of black top to Bellevue and Swedes Streets.

New storm drains were installed to replace the broken, corrugated pipes that were more than 30 years old.  When the storm drains overfill with water, two newly installed water pumps turn on automatically to pump water from the road into the bay.  "The nice thing is, they are quiet," Judge said.

The water pumps operate for five to ten minutes before shutting off.  Judge said in the two months the pumps have been functional, they have only had to operate for six total hours.  "They won't run needlessly," Judge said.

Two tide gates were installed, which allow water to drain from the road into the bay, and never from the bay onto the road.  When excessive rain occurs, water in the storm drains creates pressure on the tide gates, forcing them to open into the bay.  During high tide, the gates are locked shut to keep bay water from getting onto the street.

A manmade channel was constructed, which leads from tide gates into the bay to make the drainage system environmentally friendly and safe for sea life.  A geotechnical process called core logging was used to stabilize the banks of the channel.  "Within a few years, it will be completely simulated into the wetlands," Judge said.

Judge said Bayard used to flood every high tide so a living wall, similar to a beach dune, was built four feet high to act as a berm to contain tidal water in Rehoboth Bay.  Envirotech, an environmental consulting company planted the wall.

Similarly, a timber wall was installed to provide support for the landscape at Cajun Cove condominiums. The timber wall was funded entirely by Cajun Cover homeowners.

Cajun Cove has been plagued by flooding on Bayard since the complex was built in 1988.  Peggy Killeen, a resident of Cajun Cove said the flooding situation seems to have improved since completion of the project.

The town obtained a $927,000, low-interest loan from Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to use for the Bayard Avenue project.  At a May 14 meeting, town council voted unanimously to approve a resolution to borrow only $480,000 from the loan.

The total project came in under budget by about $7,000, Judge said.  He said he hopes to use the money to construct a safety fence around the pump station.

Judge said the town also applied for a grant of $90,000 from DNREC to use for construction of permeable paving and support for the road and shoulders in the area to create additional parking that is environmentally friendly.

The bay should never again encroach Bayard Avenue unless a catastrophic hurricane hits Dewey Beach, Judge said; even then, the water will eventually be channeled back into the bay.  Judge said, "We're all so excited about our first storm."