Ellicott City inundated with studies, but risk of flooding remains

Critics angry after roads turn into rivers again

ELLICOTT CITY, Md. – Dave Callaway tried to restrain his anger, frustration and sadness watching crews pile his belongings into a dumpster.

It was the second time in two years he’d been forced to trash sofas, rugs and furniture because of flood waters that crept into his Main Street home. He has watched roads turn into rivers as the rapids wreak havoc and destroy homes and businesses throughout the quaint, historic mill town.

And he has watched the slow pace of government officials over the years, culminating in two “1-in-1,000-year” rain events in two years.

Local leaders long have known that storms could leave the city, which sits at the bottom of a valley, in shambles. But critics say very little has been done over the years to meet the threat head-on, even though study after study has offered both warnings of disaster and possible solutions.

At the heart of the issue is a web of changing threats, inadequate and expensive solutions and red tape that have left many in the town feeling they must fend for themselves to solve the flooding problems or leave before they’re hit again.

“They say they care, they say they’ll look at it, but how long do we have to wait to fix this?” Callaway said. “People are dying. People are losing everything they own. I can’t do this again.”

Leaders in Howard County crafted a thorough plan after the 2016 flooding disaster and say large changes to mitigate a flood simply can’t happen overnight, even though they’re moving quickly. But the downtown area, which is woven with three different rivers, isn’t a stranger to flooding. Numerous reports, some dating to the 1970s, have warned that Ellicott City, in particular, was in danger and that a flood could devastate the area.

Historically, the flood threat to Ellicott City has been from the Patapsco River overflowing. The water moves up Main Street, which was built on a hill and encompasses many of the city’s historic buildings and businesses. It happened multiple times in the 1970s, allowing a river to form throughout the community, a similar scene to what the area looked like Sunday.

More recently, the threat has changed. Water is moving down the valleys, essentially turning the city into a bowl to catch all the rain. When Tropical Storm Lee passed through the area in 2011, homes were pummeled. But little was done after. “To look in hindsight is always interesting. But when we looked at that storm, we saw it as an anomaly,” said Mark DeLuca, deputy director of public works in Howard County.

DeLuca said after the flood that Howard County commissioned a study that pointed to blocked water channels as one of the primary reasons for flooding.

Other studies identified solutions to the threat: The clearest way to help mitigate flooding was through retention ponds. The county rejected the plans because of the high expense and low reward since the fixtures wouldn’t be a cure-all for the floods, especially for intense storms such as the ones Sunday.

The county reversed its decision after the 2016 floods. Four stormwater retention facilities are in the works.