Study to look at Smith Island flooding solutions
Flooded yards and overflowing drainage ditches are a way of life on Smith Island, as the offshore island in Somerset County regularly takes a beating from tidal flooding and storms that come up the bay.
Now county officials are hoping a new study could identify ways to alleviate the problem. On Tuesday, Somerset County Commissioners awarded a contract to A. Morton Thomas & Associates of Rockville, Maryland, to undertake a drainage study of the island which sits about 12 miles off the coast of Crisfield.
The engineering firm will survey the island and identify areas that don’t drain well, including ditches and culverts, and then make suggestions for improvements, said Gary Pusey, the county’s planning director.
Finding solutions will likely be challenging given that low-lying Smith Island has been eroding away and is vulnerable to the ravages of nature, Pusey said.
“The engineers may come back and say there’s not a lot that can be done,” he said.
The county will pay $47,630 for the study with a grant from the Department of Natural Resources. Engineers are expected to begin their survey work in October and present a report in early March.
The county received two other bids for the project at slightly lower cost, but A. Morton Thomas & Associates better addressed everything in the county’s request for proposals, Pusey said. The other bids were $46,300 from George, Miles & Buhr and $42,400 from George E. Young.
READ MORE: Smith Island erosion, flooding projects get underway
The drainage study is part of the recently approved Smith Island Vision Plan that sets goals for the survival of the three island communities, including boosting tourism and sustaining the watermen’s culture.
The plan got its start after Hurricane Sandy when the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development and the Department of Natural Resources each kicked in $45,000 to hire a consultant.
The vision plan also set in motion a shoreline stabilization project at Rhodes Point that will help protect the west-facing village from storms on the Chesapeake Bay.
The county is using $3.1 million of its Hurricane Sandy recovery money to pay for the project on the west side of a strip of land that separates and protects Rhodes Point from the open Chesapeake Bay. Construction on the project started about a month ago.
The county also plans to chip in $1.6 million as its share of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project for a jetty near the stabilized shoreline. The Corps will know in another month or so if funds are available. If not, the county will put its share into more stabilization work, Pusey said.
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