Maryland governor examines flood mitigation plans for Ellicott City
ELLICOTT CITY -- Gov. Wes Moore and members of his administration toured some of Howard County's latest flood mitigation efforts to get a sense of the progress made toward protecting the residents who live there on Friday.
It's hard to shake what Ellicott City went through back in 2018, 2016 and 2011: when floodwaters turned Main Street into a river.
Fast forward to 2023, nearly a mile away, the Quaker Mill Pond near the intersection of Rogers Avenue and Patapsco River Road is ready to catch more than three million gallons of water.
It was created as part of the EC Safe and Sound plan to mitigate floods for Ellicott City—millions in state funds helped it come to fruition.
"[Investing in projects like this is] the reason that we're investing in things like resilient infrastructure," Moore said. "[It's also] the reason that we are going to invest in things like trying to make sure we have a climate resilient environment and actually dealing with climate change as the crisis that it is."
Moore, as well as Howard County leaders like county executive Calvin Ball, visited with Old Ellicott City business owners who were impacted by the floods.
Moore promised that the state-local partnerships would continue in the future.
"We have to move with a sense of urgency because it is imperative to make sure everyone is seen and supported in this moment," he said.
Ball said business owners are still dealing with the aftermath of those floods years ago, but adds they're comforted to see projects like the Quaker Mill Pond completed.
"They see that we're making progress. They see that we're all in this together," Ball said. "They see we are investing to make sure Ellicott City is more safe and more sound into the future."
There's still more work to be done: more retention ponds are being built, and Ball said he and other Howard County leaders are still pushing for progress on the North Tunnel project.
That project looks to create an 18-foot-wide tunnel that would divert water to the Patapsco River.
"The extended North Tunnel will be the biggest transformational flood mitigation project in the county and one of the biggest in the state," Ball said.
Ball noted that there have been ribbon cuttings for two more retention ponds for the EC Safe and Sound plan. Together, they are able to hold more than seven million gallons of water.