Over the course of time, the Town has experimented with a number of solutions to mitigate the flooding concerns along our south shore. Unfortunately, much was met without success.Flapper valves were installed on the water side of several drainage pipes only to have them seal up in the closed position with marine life causing flooding during normal rain events. These valves require a lot of maintenance and, since there are potentially thousands of locations that these can be installed, this is not a feasible solution.
At one time, duckbill valves were mounted on the outside of Town controlled bulkheads to prevent contaminations due to the backflow of water. A duckbill valve is generally made out of rubber and shaped like the beak of a duck. They are more costly than flapper valves and boats tended to break them off when docking. In addition, they also had a tendency to freeze in the winter, which makes them non-viable solutions.
In certain areas, the Town built catch basins that serve to hold stormwater in rain events. However, because of the high water table, the catch basins are often ½ full most of the time causing a mosquito problem (so they don't work in every area).
The Town is committed to developing new and affordable solutions for the flooding problems along the shore line and will work with the residents and businesses in those areas.