An approximately $3 million project to improve drainage in the flood-prone Merion Park section of Ocean City is essentially complete, and heavy rain on Christmas Eve could provide a first test of the new system.
Three new pumping stations that are designed to move storm water off streets in the low-lying neighborhood are now operational.
High tides on Wednesday (Dec. 24) are at 9:36 a.m. and 10:05 p.m. — about the same time a storm system is expected to dump more than an inch of rain on Ocean City. The National Weather Service forecast calls for one-half to three-quarters of an inch of rain on Wednesday afternoon and an equal amount at night.
These are the types of storms that strand Merion Park homeowners about 12 to 15 times a year as floodwaters cover streets.
But if the system works according to plan, any rising water level will automatically trigger pumping stations on Westminster Lane (near the Waterview Boulevard intersection), Somerset Lane and Bay Avenue (near the Bartram Lane intersection). Three underground pumps at each station will help storm water drain more quickly.
The new pumping stations are one of the key elements to a project that also included the installation of larger and properly aligned drainage pipes, according to Roger McLarnon, director of Community Operations in Ocean City. Gas and water company lines were replaced at the same time.
The work will provide an important test to see if the technology could work in other flood-prone sections of Ocean City.
City Council awarded a $96,500 contract to Michael Baker Jr. Inc. to design the pump stations and a $2,739,554 contract to F.W. Shawl & Sons of Marmora for the construction and repaving work.
McLarnon said the system cannot prevent substantial tidal flooding when low-elevation outfall pipes are covered by water. He said the pumping stations have a device similar to a toilet-bowl float that will shut down the system when flood levels rise too high.
Merion Park residents will still have to move cars to higher ground during major tidal and storm events. But the project is designed to help drain floodwaters more quickly as tides recede.
The project is the culmination of an long effort by neighbors to advocate for relief.
