BALTIMORE (WMAR) — A portion of Cherry Hill in Baltimore is still dealing with flooding from the storm. Part of Spelman Road remains closed as the city contemplates short and long term actions.
“They need to fix this because it’s just outrageous. It doesn’t make any sense,” said Sunnie Austin, who has lived there a few years.
Austin said since she’s lived in the neighborhood owned by the city, it has flooded many times.
“It’s an inconvenience. You have to park your car different places just so you don’t have to worry about this,” Austin said.
“We try to look out for each other. When we think it’s gonna rain, we knock on each other’s doors to let them know to move their cars,” neighbor Jacqueline McCoy said.
McCoy said it’s been flooding like this for at least 23 years. She is more than tired of this kind of waterfront view.
“It’s terrible because I don’t know what is in the water,” McCoy said.
Even more worrisome is the possibility of it ending up in her home.
“One time, it flooded so bad that it came in our houses and the city had to come in and clean our houses out,” McCoy said. “I’m hoping it don’t come in my house this time.”
They want it fixed.
A spokeswoman for the Housing Authority of Baltimore City said they are battling mother nature. The hills create these low lying areas.
MORE: Baltimore's Cherry Hill community dealing with flooding concerns
“It’s been raining for the last 20 years right? So one of the things that we do is make our residents our first priority and some of those things in terms of preventative measures include delivering sand bags to help stop the water from rolling down hill and preventing it from running into our residents homes,” said spokeswoman Ingrid Antonio.
In addition to providing sand bags to prevent homes from water damage, the Housing Authority is part of a task force with DPW dedicated to addressing the issues.
In the short term, Baltimore Department of Public Works are assessing the feasibility of installing above ground pumps to drain the water. They are also making sure the inlets are clear and will continue monitoring the flooding levels.
The long-term solution is to replace the underground piping and engineers are in process of designing that system.
Neighbors hope something changes soon.
The continued problem makes them feel further isolated from the city.
“I know a lot of people say it’s because of where you live. At the end of the day, it don’t matter where you live. A flood is a flood and it needs to be fixed. No matter if it’s public housing or a regular house, it just needs to be fixed. No one should have to go through that,” Austin said.
In a statement, District 10 Councilwoman Phylicia Porter said:
“I sympathize with the generational public health flooding issues that have taken place at Cherry Hill. We have confirmed with the Housing Authority of Baltimore City that the Department of Public Works has been out there since the morning providing assistance to the area and neighbors. Prior to coming into office, Cherry Hill was not a designated location for sandbags. We have advocated for Cherry Hill to be a flood mitigation site, providing sandbags to the community. We know this isn’t solving the root issue but we are working with DPW on long-term solutions.
Tonight, there will be a virtual Cherry Hill Coalition Meeting to discuss the issues and two proposed plans to help mitigate these general public safety issues that have been happening for decades.
We are currently on standby if any residents need any assistance. Please reach out to my office at Phylicia.porter@baltimorecity.gov.”
