Sunny Day Flooding only going to get worse
SALISBURY, Md. – It’s a phenomenon that doesn’t quite make sense when you see it, flooding on a sunny day. As it turns out though, sunny day flooding or nuisance flooding is a real problem that’s on the rise.
“It’s usually flooding in the streets, it’s usually near an estuary or a river and it seems to come out of nowhere, there’s not a storm, there’s no rainstorm, there’s no hurricane that seems to be causing the flooding, but you’ll get flooding in the streets,” said Dr. Michael Scott, Dean of Salisbury University’s Richard A. Henson School of Science and Technology.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA have been studying the trends of nuisance flooding. NOAA says because of sea-level rise and climate change, the flooding will only get worse.
According to NOAA from May 2019 to April 2020, high tide flooding will occur about twice as often as levels typically observed in 2000.
Dr. Scott and locals we spoke with say they are already seeing the increase at places like Fitzwater St. in Salisbury.
“Down on Fitzwater St., we used to get nuisance flooding anywhere between 10 and 15 times a year. Now we’re seeing nuisance flooding anywhere between 20 and 40 times a year,” said Dr. Scott.
“I used to see it once in a great while, but now I see about two or three times a week, especially living on Fitzwater,” said Tyler Murrell, who lives off of Fitzwater.
On the Fitzwater St. the water will sometimes be as high as the sidewalk. Levels so high that compact cars can’t pass through.
“It’s incredibly frustrating to have to sit there and debate whether or not you can get through it or if you have to turn around and go through Brew River or you have to take the longer way, then Pemberton gets backed up,” said Ashley Murrell, who also lives off of Fitzwater.
So what comes next?
Mayor Jake Day says they are aware of the problem on Fitzwater and have plans to address it.
Currently, the city has plans to start construction in the area in the second or third week of September.
“It’s a 6 million dollar massive project on Fitzwater Sreet, its the replacement of the pump station, water, sewer everything along that corridor is being replaced including ultimately the paving,” said Day.
According to the plan, the streets will get road grade angle alterations that will help keep water from pooling or ponding in the street.
Day also said that on Wednesday that Salisbury became the first city in the state to submit their plan to the state on how to address nuisance flooding.
