Many homeowners in Prince George’s County, Maryland, know when the rain comes, there’s always the danger of flooding.
According to a new report released by the county, there are approximately 4,000 structures county-wide that are vulnerable to flooding in a 100-year-storm event. Most of those are in older, inner beltway communities the county says are already targeted for revitalization.
Melinda Bolling, county director of permits, enforcement and inspections, said during a council meeting earlier this year that it comes down to flatlands, older homes built before regulations, high groundwater and what she called “bad soil.”
The Annual Evaluation Report on Hazard Mitigation Plan Flood-Related Action Items details a countywide flood reduction strategy which includes:
- Developing a long-term flood reduction program for the county
- Evaluating flood mitigation alternatives
- Performing a preliminary design of the solutions for those major problem areas
- Recommending the most suitable flood mitigation alternatives
- Seeking federal and state grants for project construction
But the report says flood mitigation projects could cost more than $100 million and take decades to implement.
To that end, they have selected ten areas to be addressed first based on the frequency of flooding and number of structures vulnerable to flooding. Those include improvements to the Anacostia levee system, and structures near Northeast Branch-East West Highway, Northeast Branch-Bladensburg, Oxon Run-Forest Heights and Beaverdam Creek in Landover.
Other actions the county is taking include public outreach and education, and enhancing and expanding tools to use warnings and alerts.
