At a recent meeting, Milford City Council members expressed concerns regarding flooding in specific areas of Milford. Councilman Danny Perez who owns two businesses on Northeast Front Street asked what was being done to address consistent flooding near his businesses.
“What are we actually doing on Northeast Front Street?” Perez asked. “I thought when we narrowed the road that we addressed that. I know the police department has come down and shut the road down because it really flooded out and it has already happened twice this summer.”
City Manager Chris Coleman explained that the city was working on that and had met with a consultant that day to discuss how water was channeled into the river and the Kent County Pump Station.
“But I just want to remind everyone that a lot of things flow into the river and the pipes that flow into the river are underwater, so when we have that perfect storm of heavy rain and high tide, we do tend to get flooding in that area,” Coleman said. “I think, if I am not mistaken, we haven’t had significant heavy rains over the last few years, but we have recently and those are some of the challenges public works is working on with Kent County.”
Perez thanked Coleman for his explanation but felt this was becoming a safety issue.
“I can tell you firsthand how challenging and dangerous it is and if there is in an emergency, the fire department has to respond by going across that and I think the police department can attest to that,” Perez said. “It has already occurred twice with those heavy rains. I’ve been living in the city here for over 28 years and that office has been there 16 or 17 years. So, I’m very familiar with that. I know we addressed it before.”
He pointed out that this location was right in front of the Riverwalk Shopping Center and thought that the issue had been addressed when the road was narrowed.
“Anyone who has lived in Milford a long time knows that Northeast Front Street has always flooded when there is heavy, heavy rain,” Vice-Mayor Jason James said. “I can say that when they redid the street, there has been improvement on how quickly it recedes, depending on high tide. I’m not sure how much you are going to be able to do unless you’re going to move the river. Godspeed.”
Perez stated that it was not so much moving the river as addressing the issue.
“What I though was happening with the narrowing of the road is that this drainage issue would be addressed,” Perez said. “Perhaps rerouting the drain out to somewhere else is a solution. But I do know if we get a whole bunch of rain, such as three or four inches in a matter of an hour, there is nothing that will prevent the flooding, but the danger is that once the rain stops, the water is still there and then you have more flooding.”
Later in the meeting, Councilwoman Katrina Wilson told council she had received a call from a resident on Northwest Fourth Street who had expressed concerns about flooding.
“It’s what we used to call Baker’s Hill, the hill up from Banneker,” Wilson said. “Of course, we are aware of flooding there, but no one is morea ware of the flooding except for those who live there. She told me she has been dealing with this since 20018 and I think she would really like someone to come out and talk to her with an update.”
Wilson acknowledged that she was aware there was an issue with the retaining pond at Banneker, but wondered what was being done to address the problems.
“The study is complete and the basketball court will remain in its current location,” Public Works Director Willis Shafer said. “The pond can be expanded not as much as we would like. We really need more property in order to get it the proper size, so we are looking downstream in the FY2025 budget. We have a drainage project that’s currently with KCI who is going to evaluate that entire area to try to come up with better ways to move stormwater into the river. We had staff meet with her last year.”
Shafer explained that they held off moving forward on the project until they could address the larger scope of flooding in the entire area. He told council he would be happy to meet with the resident again to give an update.
