Avalon Advances North End Flood Study to Final Stage

AVALON — Avalon Mayor Martin Pagliughi announced that a comprehensive study of various drainage issues and potential improvements for the northeast quadrant of the Borough has advanced to its final stage. The study will result in significant drainage improvements to the beach blocks of Avalon from 9th Street south to approximately 27th Street.
“This is an important effort to further protect the north end beach blocks in Avalon from flooding events that may be caused by storm events that bring an intense amount of rainfall to the neighborhoods in a very short amount of time,” said Mayor Pagliughi. “I met with the engineers who are involved with the study on January 11 and pleased to report that we are in the final stage of the study that will result in a capital improvement plan that will greatly improve resiliency and public safety, while protecting personal and public property.”
Avalon received over five inches of rain during a rain event during the early morning hours of Sat., July 29 which caused street flooding in north end beach blocks. The Borough’s two storm water pump stations located at 11th Street and 22nd Street worked continually during the event to pump the water out of the streets through the Borough’s conveyance system. It took several hours for the pumps to alleviate the flooding issues. The Borough also experienced heavy rainfall during storms in July, 2005 and again in Sept., 2009; there was a less significant storm event that caused some street flooding in some beach blocks earlier in July, 2017.
The Avalon Borough Council took action at its first meeting following the July 29, 2017 storm and authorized the engineering firm of Mott MacDonald to analyze both the performance of the two existing pump stations, along with the conveyance system. To date, the tasks completed during this study include a complete field survey of the conveyance system which required the relocation of sand to remove manhole covers to video the system; an analysis of the hydrology using various flooding scenarios; modeling of the performance of the current system’s ability to perform under various design flood scenarios; and the gathering of operational data on the storm water pumps. The final analysis includes various options for the Borough regarding potential storm events and how to properly address any deficiencies with design and cost analysis. The final report is anticipated to be presented to the Avalon Borough Council during its meeting of Wed., Feb. 28.
“Based on the fact that the type of storm events of 2005, 2009, and 2017 are becoming more frequent and intense, Avalon is conducting its due diligence with this comprehensive evaluation of the north end storm water infrastructure,” Mayor Pagliughi said. “We are committed to meet the current and future challenges of these significant storm events for public safety and property protection and intend to address these challenges upon completion of this study.”
For more information, visit www.avalonboro.net.