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Citizen complaint of the day: Ronan Park could use a boat launch
By adamg on Sat, 07/10/2021 - 9:44am
A concerned citizen files a 311 complaint about the lake that emerged in the playground at Ronan Park in Dorchester after yesterday's downpours.
Note: The playground is at the opposite end of the park from the hole that opened up last December, so no, unplugging the hole wouldn't make a difference.
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Comments
Water Water Everywhere
I live near Ronan Park and my sump pump has been running non stop for almost 24 hours. I woke up this morning and it's still pumping water.
They spent a ton of money on
They spent a ton of money on upgrading the drainage at that park 10-15 yrs ago. It seems like they didn’t quite figure out how to make water run downhill.
Sometimes even a hill can flood
We live on the side of a hill, so flooding's not normally an issue for us, but yesterday there was some major ponding going on in our (granted, flat) backyard.
Or, in the park's case, it could be somebody forgot to clear out a catch basin - which apparently was the cause of flooding near the Franklin Park Zoo yesterday.
Park drainage itself may not be the problem
It can drain really well, but it won't drain if the pipes it is draining into are already full.
We also got 3-4" of rain in a matter of hours, depending on location. Our larger stormwater systems in the area (including the mains that run through large drainage areas) were built for 1960 95th percentile rainfall. Then this happened between 1958 and 2012:
A 71% increase in downpours means that lot of communities and areas are now dealing with this problem.
Epic rainfall
Sometimes this has less to do with the specific drainage system of an area and more to do with there being too much already in the pipe for it to go anywhere.
In other words, the water has nowhere to go and ends up in pits like this, or just doesn't drain out due to too much water in the system.
My area ends up with that situation: water coming from multiple other areas maxes out the capacity of the stormwater mains before any of the water in down-gradient areas can drain into it, creating flooding in unexpected places. Cities and towns are drawing up street flooding maps since this is not the river or ocean flooding represented in FEMA maps.
Street and basement flooding due to inadequate stormwater capacity is a problem that is only getting worse due to the enormous increase in downpours over the last half century in our region (and, yes, this can happen in drought years as it is due to sudden deluge). The most recent poster child is Norwood Hospital.
WTF, leaves, snow, water, it
WTF, leaves, snow, water, it's nature not magic, it doesn't disapper on your whim or because you say abracadabra. Enjoy, it will resolve.
All those green bags in storm
All those green bags in storm drains that some people drop into them surely don't help.