ELLICOTT CITY, MD -- Decades of modern development surrounding Ellicott City, Md. is "not the sole, or primary, source of flooding," according to master planning documents developed after a 2016 fatal catastrophe.
The plan was unveiled in March less that three months before the second flash-flood disaster struck Sunday, killing one and destroying much of the new infrastructure that had been installed after the 2016 flood.
A lot of blame lies in the past, according to the study.
"A significant portion of the watershed was developed before 1980 and was, therefore, not subject to managing storm water."
Many victims of the floods disagree.
"The problem still hasn't been fixed", said flooded-out jewelry store owner Lori McDermott. "They continue to build."
Rather than putting a focus on development restrictions, Howard County's strategy under the leadership of County Executive Allan Kittleman has been to further flood-proof Ellicott City while envisioning modernized and flood-hardened re-development, revealed in the proposed master plan.
At least $17 million is in the county budget in the upcoming year to continue working on a long list of drainage and flood wall projects.
On deck for 2018 is a project to widen and improve a culvert in the town's West End to reduce the chance that overflow will race at high velocity down Frederick Road.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is offering flood-proofing grant assistance and advice to property owners.
Just two weeks before Sunday's disaster, Howard County unveiled plans for a new digital flood warning system.
According to a 2017, engineering report $80 million in improvements would be needed to reduce the volume of flood water seen in the 2016 disaster by as much as 60 percent.
The engineering report proposes modernization of as many as 60 existing storm water containment ponds as well as the construction of several large new ones.
An elaborate and expensive underground pipe maze is proposed to capture pulses of storm water and release them more slowly.
The plan has not been approved or funded.
Rather than adding to runoff, new development has resulted in water quality improvements, according to a county application for continued state Sustainable Communities Designation.
The application mentions the 198-unit Burgess Station Mill development which features more impervious surfaces that the aging apartment community it replaced. However, the impact was mitigated by the construction of modern storm water management features like a retaining pond.
The pond blew out and released all its water during the 2016 flood. The structure survived the 2018 disaster.
