Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your stupid mayor was on the news tonight saying that ‘we’ve done all we can, floods are going to happen’

He's right, actually.

They'll keep happening because they've paved so much of the watershed above the old city. Long term, Ellicott City shouldn't be there. Because this will keep happening. There's just no way to deal with that volume of water.

They need to buy property owners out and raze much of the town in the flood channel along Main Street. Turn it into something else. But it can't be a town anymore.

Where is this insane amount of paving? Downtown Ellicott City is surrounded by undeveloped land on Google Maps. There appears to be very little asphalt coverage, lots of open land...take a look: https://goo.gl/maps/LAueNjc9WTQ2

It certainly is NOT a high degree of density surrounding the old town.

I think the issue is that the ground is so waterlogged from the week of rain we got before this last big storm. And then this storm dropped another 8" in only a few hours. The ground and rivers were already filled. Plus, all the water channels downward into the valley.

Oh, honey. For real? All your knowledge about this area is from Google Maps? Sit your ignorant ass down, you’re embarrassing yourself.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your stupid mayor was on the news tonight saying that ‘we’ve done all we can, floods are going to happen’

He's right, actually.

They'll keep happening because they've paved so much of the watershed above the old city. Long term, Ellicott City shouldn't be there. Because this will keep happening. There's just no way to deal with that volume of water.

They need to buy property owners out and raze much of the town in the flood channel along Main Street. Turn it into something else. But it can't be a town anymore.

Where is this insane amount of paving? Downtown Ellicott City is surrounded by undeveloped land on Google Maps. There appears to be very little asphalt coverage, lots of open land...take a look: https://goo.gl/maps/LAueNjc9WTQ2

It certainly is NOT a high degree of density surrounding the old town.

I think the issue is that the ground is so waterlogged from the week of rain we got before this last big storm. And then this storm dropped another 8" in only a few hours. The ground and rivers were already filled. Plus, all the water channels downward into the valley.

Well, you looked at google-earth, so clearly you're an expert hydrologist now, huh? I guess I don't know squat, since I've only lived and worked here on and off since the early 90's.

Odd how this type of flooding never happened before. The town always flooded from the bottom up in the previous 300 years, never from the top down. This is a brand new phenomenon.

But you're the expert. You gots the google

Keep in mind when you're looking at a map that water does not flow South. If flows downhill. You can't see where the hills are by looking at a satellite map. All those little cul de sac communities surrounding Main Street are uphill from the Patapsco River. All water flows down to the river. How can people not be able to figure that out after 50 different explanations?

This link will explain everything about how the water flows through Ellicott City. Don't comment about it until you've read it.

https://envisionfrederickcounty.org/ellicott-city-flood-stop-calling-it-a-natural-disaster/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your stupid mayor was on the news tonight saying that ‘we’ve done all we can, floods are going to happen’

He's right, actually.

They'll keep happening because they've paved so much of the watershed above the old city. Long term, Ellicott City shouldn't be there. Because this will keep happening. There's just no way to deal with that volume of water.

They need to buy property owners out and raze much of the town in the flood channel along Main Street. Turn it into something else. But it can't be a town anymore.

Where is this insane amount of paving? Downtown Ellicott City is surrounded by undeveloped land on Google Maps. There appears to be very little asphalt coverage, lots of open land...take a look: https://goo.gl/maps/LAueNjc9WTQ2

It certainly is NOT a high degree of density surrounding the old town.

I think the issue is that the ground is so waterlogged from the week of rain we got before this last big storm. And then this storm dropped another 8" in only a few hours. The ground and rivers were already filled. Plus, all the water channels downward into the valley.

The Linwood community is the problem here. Google maps does not show that this community is on much higher ground than the Main Street area below it. I'm sure you've noticed that when you drive through the area. [Don't look at google maps and assume you know what you're talking about.]

A) Cummings is an old man, but he's been working to get disaster funding to Ellicott City after the flood, so I'll forgive him not putting on his hip boots and wading through sewage for a photo op.

B) Check out this article about development and the flooding from 2 years ago: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/howard/ellicott-city/bs-md-ho-ellicott-city-development-20160813-story.html

"County officials say older developments built decades ago have more significant problems with runoff. In fact, some newer redevelopments improve antiquated stormwater management systems because any project built after 1985 is subject to runoff restrictions.

"The difficulty this community has is it's at the bottom of a funnel," said Jim Caldwell, who is in charge of community sustainability in Howard County. "The watershed is very steep. It's all heading down to the Patapsco River.""