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Annapolis on pace for another record year of high tide flooding, NOAA oceanographer tells Senate committee

In 2010, Neil Frieder, who is visiting from Cleveland, makes his way through standing water on Dock Street after heavy rains from Tropical Storm Nicole closed the road on the City Dock.
Kim Hairston / Baltimore Sun
In 2010, Neil Frieder, who is visiting from Cleveland, makes his way through standing water on Dock Street after heavy rains from Tropical Storm Nicole closed the road on the City Dock.
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The sun’s in the sky. The water’s under your feet.

High tide flooding hit a record last year when there were 12 flood days in Annapolis, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The high tide floods aren’t caused by extreme weather, but rather a combination of factors including land sinking, sea level rise and warm water, which takes up more space than cold water.

In Annapolis during high tide floods, also called sunny day floods, water comes up through storm drains around City Dock, closing roads, parking lots and businesses. In 2017, when there were 10 high tide floods, City Dock businesses lost an estimated $86,000 to $172,000 in potential revenue, according to a study published this February in Science Advances by researchers from Stanford and the Naval Academy.

NOAA oceanographer Will Sweet said in a briefing for the state Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs committee that Annapolis is on pace for another record-breaking year in 2019 with 10 high tide flood days so far. By 2030, there could be between 15 and 25 high tide flood days a year, Sweet said.

“Which would mean twice a month downtown Annapolis is not navigable by anything but boat. Is that right?” the committee’s chair Sen. Paul Pinsky said.

That is on par with the pattern Sweet’s seeing, Sweet said. By 2050, the number of high tide flood days could be between 50 and 170, he told the committee. At the turn of the century the average number of high tide flood days in Annapolis was two.

“A large component of this is sea level rise,” Sweet said. “Our infrastructure hasn’t elevated, but what has is the water.”

In addition to an update from Sweet on flooding, the committee heard from state officials about preparation efforts and from officials in Howard County about their plan to mitigate flooding in Ellicott City, where flash flooding has claimed the lives of three people since 2016.

Officials discussed their $140 million plan, which includes demolishing some buildings and adding a tunnel 15 feet in diameter, 80 to 100 feet deep and 1,600 feet long on the north side of Ellicott City’s Main Street. The tunnel would divert about 2/3 of flood waters, the Howard County’s deputy public works director Mark DeLuca told the committee.

Shaina Hernandez, a policy adviser to Howard County Executive Calvin Ball, said one thing business owners are struggling with is a perception that they’re still closed. They’re not — restaurants, salons and more have reopened.

“The number one thing that everyone can do for the business owners in Ellicott City is go to Ellicott City,” Hernandez said.

She said many owners took out loans after floods in 2016 and 2018 from the Department of Housing and Community Development and are struggling to repay them. She said the department has extended the repayment period, but that it would be beneficial to find a way to ease the burden of those loans.

“The business owners are terrified of when those loans are going to come due,” she said.