The stormwater drainage system on the northeastern end of Old Orchard Beach is not working properly, according to both residents and town officials. The town is taking steps to figure out why and what can be done to solve the problem.

Since stormwater does not drain efficiently, and in some cases not at all, residents along Walnut, Foote and Milliken streets have faced continual flooding of their driveways, yards and sometimes their basements for the past 10 years.

Old Orchard Beach recently hired the engineering firm of Milone & MacBroom, Inc. to take a global look at the town’s flooding problems and come up with possible solutions by the end of September 2007.

The problem

Kathy Williams, president of the homeowner’s association at the Davenport condominium complex on Walnut Street, said Monday there’s been a “dramatic increase” in the water level on the marsh and in the stormwater drainage ditch along her street in the past two years.

She and her husband, Christopher, have lived in the complex for nine years. Kathy Williams said since the town built a new parking lot on Milliken Street and a sidewalk along Walnut Street, the amount of water coming into the yard, the driveway and the parking lot at the Davenport has increased significantly.

“I am pleased that the study is happening. But I wish something had been done years ago. I’m just hoping that things get rectified. I’m confident in the study and I know Old Orchard Beach will do what it needs to,” Williams said.

However, she and her neighbors would like the town to dredge the stormwater drainage ditch on Walnut Street before spring, when heavy rain and melting snow will again bring a lot of water into her neighborhood.

“We want the town to dredge to keep the water flowing,” Williams said. But according to OOB Public Works Director Mary Ann Conroy, the town can’t dredge the ditch without first getting a permit from the Department of Environmental Protection.

Conroy also wants to wait before committing to such an expensive project until the final report by Milone & MacBroom comes out next fall.

Study costs

The study being conducted by Milone & MacBroom is costing Old Orchard Beach $93,000, but Town Manager Jim Thomas has also asked the town of Scarborough and private landowner Fred Bayley to chip in.

Scarborough is giving $7,500 toward the study and Bayley is giving $5,000. It’s possible, Thomas said, that some of Old Orchard’s flooding problems could be caused by a dam on Bayley’s land and by recent changes made to the Scarborough Marsh.

Town Manager Ron Owens said Scarborough is making a contribution toward the cost of the study to show that the town is not doing anything to cause flooding in Old Orchard Beach.

“Hopefully, it will become clear that Scarborough is not causing the problem. Although if there is something we can do to help, we would of course look into it,” Owens said.

Bayley could not be reached for comment before press time. According to Thomas, the dam on Bayley’s land was built in the late 1980s in a cooperative effort between Bayley, Ducks Unlimited and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife.

The dam was built to ensure wildlife habitat. It is located in Scarborough, right off the Little River, which eventually drains into the ocean on the northeast end of Old Orchard Beach.

Possible outcomes

“The $93,000 question is why the flooding is happening,” Thomas said. “We need professional consultants to find out what’s going on and what we can do about it.”

He said one reason Milone & MacBroom was hired is that during budget time last spring, Councilors Jim Long and Shawn O’Neill expressed a strong interest in getting the flooding under control.

At a forum on the flooding issue held last week, Thomas told residents, “We know you’ve been living with this problem for a number of years. But we need to put our arms around the problem and put a dollar figure on it. We are trying to gather the facts and figures. Rest assured the council and the administration has heard you.”

Jim MacBroom, a principal at Milone & MacBroom and the company’s expert on water technology, said one of the biggest issues facing Old Orchard Beach is something the town can do nothing to control – a rise in sea level.

MacBroom said with a one-foot rise in sea level over the past 50 years, areas in town that were once dry are dry no longer. With an increase in sea level there has also been an increase in the water table, which leads to increased and more constant saturation of the ground.

Nicole Burnham, an engineer with Milone & MacBroom, said at last week’s forum, “There is no one silver bullet solution to all of the flooding problems.” She said some possible solutions would include modifications to, or new construction of, culverts, dams, tidal gates and roadways, including raising the roadbed on several streets.

One project the town undertook this fall, however, has led to a decrease in the standing water in many of the stormwater drainage ditches on the northeastern end of Old Orchard Beach. In October, the town was able to unplug four underground outfall pipes, which empty into the ocean – something that had not been done for at least 30 years.