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Thursday, April 26, 2006
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DPW expects quicker recovery from floods
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BY ROD HANSEN
Flood recovery stands as the Department of Public Works’ main priority in the coming months, department Director Carl Quiram told selectmen at their meeting Monday, April 30.
However, Quiram said he believes the department can return to its construction and maintenance schedule faster than it did after last year’s floods.
“As you know, we lost most of last summer due to flood damage and repair,” Quiram told selectmen.
Town officials estimate $360,000 in damages due to this year’s April floods, Quiram said. Because those floods have been declared a federal disaster, Quiram said he expects the Federal Emergency Management Agency to pay for 75 percent of those damage repairs. State aid would finance the rest of the expenses, he said.
However, Quiram said FEMA must first determine whether a project is eligible for federal funding, and the agency must also approve of the scope of a project.
The issue of federal aid became prominent during the discussion of a culvert that runs under the town hall parking lot.
“Last year, FEMA and (town attorney) Bill Drescher gave us the opinion that the town was not responsible for the maintenance of this culvert, as it is passed under buildings on private property,” said Quiram. He added that Drescher should research the deeds to determine what the town could do without violating the state constitution.
Board members also questioned whether the town should design its drainage systems to guard against the so-called “100-year flood,” a catastrophic event with a 1 percent chance of striking a community any given year.
Quiram noted that both the floods of last Mother’s Day and this April were both labeled “100-year floods.”
He said anticipating such events when designing drainage can be costly in terms of space and money.
“If you said ‘Let’s design everything to a 100-year storm,’ I don’t think it would be possible because every pipe would be three feet and it would get very crowded,” said Quiram.
Selectman Scott Gross also questioned whether the town should foresee a 100-year flood in its construction projects.
“I think it would be poor planning for us to start planning everything for a 100-year flood. How much money are we going to spend?” Gross said.
Quiram suggested new construction may have contributed to the flooding in town.
“I have noticed that many areas with the worst flooding are areas adjacent to fairly new developments.
We are reviewing the drainage designs and the drainage designs and the Planning Board’s regulations at the time to see if there is any connection with the flooding we have seen,” he said.
Quiram also discussed other items on the department’s summer schedule once flood-related issues have been resolved.
He said the department planned on finishing work on Bridge and Center streets first, which Quiram said he expecterd to take four weeks of a crew’s time.
He also said the town is working with the city of Manchester to finish the Rosemont drainage project to put that project out to bid.
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Reproduced
by the Goffstown Residents Association.
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