Sep. 22 -- NEW LONDON -- An ambitious $16.5 million flood mitigation proposal for South Water Street calls for a combination of new flood walls and road-raising, along with design elements to make the downtown waterfront area more attractive and functional.
The plan, which requires several steps before it can be approved or funded, focuses on a 1,300-foot stretch of South Water Street, just below Bank Street and a few feet away from railroad tracks.
Felix Reyes, the city's director of planning and economic development, said the road, where the rear sides of several Bank Street properties are located, has the tendency to collect floodwater after heavy rains.
One solution, floated by the Fuss & O'Neill civil and environmental engineering firm to the City Council's Economic Development Committee earlier this month, proposes building flood walls between 3 and 6 feet near the Amtrak rail lines.
The firm said the walls would be sturdy enough to withstand coastal flooding events up to a 100-year flood, which the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, predicts have a 1% chance of occurring each year.
The wall construction would likely coincide with raising sections of South Water Street by up to 2 1/2 feet to make the undulating road a uniform height, said Akta Patel, an engineer with Fuss & O'Neill.
Patel said a recent University of Connecticut flood analysis anticipated a 20-inch rise in sea levels by 2050, which could lead to flooding in the common areas of South Water Street.
"That's already happening in some areas with flooding into basements and some property owners building flood walls," she said. "And it's only going to get worse as sea levels rise."
Ian Law, a Fuss & O'Neill associate, said he envisions a series of beautification improvements to the South Water Street area to be added in conjunction with the mitigation work.
Those additions could include transforming a nearby alley connecting Bank Street into a pedestrian staircase; creating tree-filled plazas; adding stadium-style seating; and laying cobblestone pavers.
Law said existing business delivery paths would remain during the creation of the "linear park."
The project would require the cooperation of nearby property owners and Amtrak officials. Law said his firm met with several property owners in the spring and will do so again.
The project cost was broken down into three segments: $160,000 for tree planting; $1.6 million for drainage; and $14.7 million for road elevation, flood wall and amenity work.
Law and Patel said the cost of the project could be covered through a combination of FEMA and state Department of Economic Development grants.
Reyes said another meeting will be held with property owners ahead of grant application preparation.
"This is not just about South Water Street," Reyes said. "We have multiple development projects happening on Bank and State streets, as well as other parts of the city. And they all tie into each other. If you have flooding on South Water, it affects them all."