ELLICOTT CITY, Md. — In July of 2016, six inches of rain fell in two hours, sending floodwaters racing down Main Street of historic Ellicott City, claiming two lives, and two years later, a similar flash flood left a National Guardsman dead who had been trying to rescue others.
VIDEO: Limiting flooding in Historic Ellicott City
It’s an unsettling chapter in the town’s long history that locals, like Megan McGowan, will never forget.
“We were just talking about it, and it was devastating. It was devastating to watch,” said McGowan. “It’s just tragic. I mean, absolutely tragic, so to do our best to prevent that in the future is, again, something we as citizens of the area want to see.”
Now, the county is showing citizens the progress it’s making in trying to cut down on the flooding by building a huge tunnel a mile long to divert water away from Main Street.
“The 18-foot-diameter structure will have the capacity to channel water at a rate of 26 thousand gallons per second,” explained Howard County Executive Calvin Ball.
The county also is building retention ponds that will keep tens of millions of gallons from racing down through the town.
The county has received commitments to provide every single dollar for the entire project, but there are no guarantees.
“I think we are seeing, through numerous executive orders, uncertainty about funding, whether it’s to our nonprofits or just federal funding overall, and so we’re continuing to evaluate the impacts,” said Ball.
The hope for the money to complete the project is one shared by longtime residents, mindful they remain at risk until the next big storm appears with little notice.
“We were just noticing there are some apartments over there right next to the river. I was like, ‘I don’t know that I’d feel completely comfortable yet being right down here, but hopefully,” said McGowan.
“If we get heavy rains, you’re heading to high ground?” we asked.
“Yes,” she replied, “For right now. Yeah.”
