Fixing the flooding

Berwick Public Works has been working with engineers from Miller Engineers and Associates Inc. to improve the drainage in Berwick’s Country Club Estates Subdivision. This work was begun in response to homes in the subdivision getting flooded during heavy rains on more than one occasion.
The proposition Miller Engineers presented the Town’s council in September included multiple phases, each coming with its own price tag. The total of all phases combined had an estimated cost of $1.6 million.
“I have applied for a grant for hazard mitigation with FEMA to do the drainage work,” Mayor Duval Arthur said in a phone interview. “The grant is for $1.5 million and I feel assured we are going to get it. I have no second thoughts about it.”
Arthur continued, “We will know if it is approved in January.”
Waiting for approval has put pause on some work, but not all. “We ordered the pipe for the Hogan Street Ditch and it is in. We are starting this week digging at that ditch,” Arthur said.
The town is only doing the Hogan Street Ditch stage of the proposed plan to repair everything “until we get the money,” according to Arthur.
“Most will be happy this week when they see the ditch getting dug, knowing work is moving forward, but some will be sad,” Arthur recognized. “Those along Hogan, some will be sad losing the big backyard they have grown accustomed to, but you got to do what you got to do, we have to fix the problem.”
Other issues have already been remedied. Trees and debris have been removed and cleaned out of existing ditches and culverts.
“A big thing was that we found a ditch culvert that collapsed on Nicklaus Street,” Arthur said. “We dug that up, made repairs and that made a tremendous difference. All the rain we just received and the area handled it well.”
Arthur is approaching the issue from all sides. Cleaning out and repairing existing issues as well as working through the phases Miller Engineers presented, but also realizing that maintenance in the past was lacking and has, in some cases, lead them to where they are now.
“I’m not pointing fingers or saying this is an issue from any person, but you have to have proper maintenance. We are fixing that. We are making a schedule for that now and working to be proactive. You have to have proper maintenance,” Arthur said.