District Brings Flood Relief to Bloomingdale and LeDroit Park; Breaks Ground on Large-Scale Project at McMillan
To mitigate flooding and sewer backups in the Bloomingdale and LeDroit Park neighborhoods, Mayor Gray and DC Water announced a major new infrastructure project at the site of the former McMillan Sand Filtration Plant. The Northeast Boundary Neighborhood Protection Project is a product of the Mayor’s Task Force on the Prevention of Flooding, and will be built in three phases between now and 2022.
Mayor Gray established the task force in late August and named City Administrator Allen Y. Lew and DC Water General Manager George S. Hawkins as co-chairs.
“I asked the Task Force two basic questions,” said Mayor Gray. “The first is why the long-term solution to this historic problem was still more than a decade away. The second is whether anything more could be done in the interim. This project answers both questions. I applaud the Task Force and DC Water for developing it, and I want the residents of the affected communities to know that relief is on the way. It will be meaningful, and it will come soon.”
The two neighborhoods are connected to an undersized sewer system and have been subject to flooding during heavy rains for more than a century. DC Water’s long-term approach to this problem, the Clean Rivers Project, is a tunnel system that will add capacity to the sewers and was originally scheduled for completion in 2025. Mayor Gray convened the Task Force and DC Water began a new investigation of causes and possible mitigation strategies after four intense storms inflicted property damage in Bloomingdale and LeDroit Park this summer.
Mayor Gray Appoints City Administrator Allen Lew to Chair DC Water Board
Mayor Gray appointed City Administrator Allen Lew as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (also known as DC Water). Mayor Gray also re-nominated current DC Water board member and Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1C Chairman Alan Roth to another term and nominated former City Administrator Robert Mallett to the board. Both are District residents.
“Allen Lew is uniquely qualified for this important task. I could have selected any number of people, but given the serious infrastructure issues with which DC Water is dealing and the exciting plans underway to transform the system and clean our waterways, I could think of no better individual to represent the District than Mr. Lew,” Mayor Gray said. “I’m also delighted to nominate Alan Roth and Robert Mallett to the DC Water Board; both are exceedingly well-qualified and will undoubtedly serve the District well.”
1 comment:
And the item following those two items in the Gray Report is copied below. What area of DC was a disaster in the wake of Sandy? The Fed Govt will reimburse DC for having a HSEMA van parked outside of Windows (does anyone know how that helped?).In anticipation of Sandy, residents cleaned up leaves in their streets, until DC decided to send out DPW at the last minute. I never heard of any area in DC suffering after Sandy, but I hope they received a faster cleanup response than Bloomingdale received after four storms just weeks earlier.
Mayor Gray Applauds the President’s Signature of DC Disaster Declaration for Superstorm Sandy Damage
Mayor Gray and the DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA) received word from the White House that President Obama has approved the Mayor’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration for Public Assistance for the District of Columbia to supplement recovery efforts resulting from the effects of Hurricane Sandy.
President Obama’s approval means that federal aid will now be made available to help the District recoup some of the costs associated with response to the storm – such as debris removal; costs for emergency protective measures (fire, police, and emergency medical services); damage to roads and bridges, water control facilities, public buildings and contents and public utilities; and other eligible infrastructure and hazard-mitigation costs.
“The District appreciates the President’s decision to provide federal disaster aid, as it will defray some of the costs incurred while ensuring our residents, visitors and the federal workforce were safe and able to recover and get back to business quickly after Superstorm Sandy,” said Mayor Gray.
Post a Comment