ELLICOTT CITY, Md — In efforts to mitigate flooding, Howard County Executive Calvin Ball broke ground on the Quaker Mill Flood mitigation pond.
Once complete, this project will provide approximately 10-acre-feet of storage, which is the equivalent of nearly 3.3 million gallons of water. Construction on Quaker Mill Pond is anticipated to take approximately 15 months, weather dependent.
“Our goal since adopting the Ellicott City Safe and Sound plan in December 2018 has been to keep our residents and visitors safe, reduce the amount and velocity of flood water in Historic Ellicott City, and preserve the historic nature of our town,” said Ball. “The Quaker Mill Pond our second retention and conveyance project this year alone which will help mitigate flooding under our Ellicott City Safe and Sound Plan and will reduce peak flow rates from the site for the 100-year storm by approximately 30 percent.”
In August, Ball was joined by Governor Larry Hogan to break ground on the first Safe and Sound project. $2.1 million in State funding will be provided to support this project through the Maryland Department of the Environment’s Comprehensive Flood Mitigation Grant Program.
The project was unanimously approved and will be located at the intersection of Rogers Ave. and Patapsco River Rd, keeping more water from flowing to Historic Ellicott City during a severe weather event.
The 5,000-foot tunnel is expected to begin in the West End of Main Street and run underground to the Patapsco River.