OC looks to clean entire storm drainage system

OCEAN CITY, Md. – Ocean City town officials are working on an extensive storm draining system that they hope will help with flooding.

Recently the town found that many of their pipes were clogged with litter, sediment, and even tree roots and they believe that could be contributing the flooding issues they’ve seen.

The town says they haven’t had a thorough cleaning of the system in in over 30 years and they hope by cleaning out the debris it will not only relieve flooding issues but also make for cleaner water that flows into the bay.

“We will also be able to determine whether we need maintenance needed so if there’s some cracks in the storm drain, sediment fills and sinkholes are created. So it’s really a multi-tasked purpose to be able to get in there and get this whole system cleaned. It’s going to help with the environment, it’s going to help with the flooding, it’s going to help with our work load in making sure we have a functioning system,” says Gail Blazer, an environmental engineer for Ocean City.

The town says they already have the funding in place to take on a project of this size, they just need approval from the town council to use it. If approved the project could take more than a year to complete.