Howard County Executive Calvin Ball was joined by Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) Secretary Serena McIlwain and other state and
local leaders to cut the ribbon on the H-4 Flood Mitigation Pond, a critical Ellicott City (EC) Safe and Sound project.
As previously covered on Conduit Street, Ball announced the EC Safe and Sound plan in December of 2018, just weeks after taking office. This is the third and largest retention pond to be substantially completed as part of the EC Safe and Sound Plan to date. The H-4 Pond will provide more than 5.5 million gallons of storage, which would fill a football field with nearly 12.8 feet of water.
From the county press release:
“The completion of this pond marks another giant leap forward in our efforts to implement the transformational EC Safe and Sound flood mitigation plan. The H-4 Pond is our third major retention project to mitigate flood risks in Historic Ellicott City. I’m deeply appreciative of all our local, state, and federal partners who continue to help us make significant progress on the safety of Ellicott City. We continue to move with urgency, cooperation and resolve, to ensure that Ellicott City’s best days are ahead.” – Calvin Ball, Howard County Executive.
Of the $4.3 million in project costs, $3.225 million in State funding was provided to support this project through MDE’s Comprehensive Flood Management Grant Program, and the remaining $1.075 million in County funding.
To date with the help of State, local, and federal partners, the county has secured more than $300 million in total funding for the EC Safe and Sound Plan and related flood mitigation projects in Ellicott City, including:
- A $75 million federal Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan;
- A $20 million award from the Maryland Department of Emergency Management’s Resilient Maryland Revolving Loan Fund, of which the plan’s Extended North Tunnel, Maryland Avenue Culverts, and the T-1 and NC-3 ponds will each receive another $5 million in low-interest financing from this program;
- $52 million in low-interest loans from MDE’s Water Quality State Revolving Loan Fund to further support the Extended North Tunnel Project;
- More than $58 million in State and federal grants; and
- More than $100 million in local funding.
