By Greg Ellison

Staff Writer

(Oct. 3, 2019) Improving drainage issues, for many the largest dilemma facing Ocean Pines, is the goal of a pipe replacement scheduled this month, with a laundry list of tasks presently being compiled for fiscal 2020/2021.

Operations Director Colby Phillips said the upcoming pipe work would begin around the second week of October.

“We are getting ready to replace a pipe on Watertown Road,” she said.

Earlier this year, drainage pipes were replaced on Mumfords Landing and Boston Drive.

In addition to maintenance work scheduled to this point, Phillips said plans are also underway for the first phase of a drainage woe reduction solution during the upcoming fiscal year.

“We’re currently getting information together on the Borderlinks [Resort] pipe, which is our next big pipe we’re looking to replace,” she said.

Engineering consultations to ascertain further work are proceeding.

“Vista Engineering is currently working on our drawing and information on our phase one, which involves the area in section 3 around Bainbridge Pond,” she said.

Compiling a “ditch maintenance” list is also progressing, with ongoing work to assure unobstructed drainage pathways continuing this fall.

“We’re using the dry weather to our advantage by continuing to clean out large ditches,” she said. “We’re focusing a lot on the maintenance of the ditches.”

Along with addressing smaller pipe replacements, Phillips said proactive measures are vital to improving the long-standing drainage problems.

“Preventative maintenance is key and that’s what we’re really getting a jumpstart on,” she said. “That obviously helps with the flow, which is what we want.”

In preparation for drafting an overall drainage plan, Phillips said decades worth of data was consulted.

“We looked through all the studies that went back to 1997,” she said.

With the most recent information gathered in 2016, Phillips said the critical areas were more easily identified.

“All of those studies suggest the areas that are the worst,” she said. “We have to start somewhere.”

Despite the early guidance, Phillips said the scope of work is still being assessed.

“Just because that’s our initial large area of scope that were working on, that does not mean we’re not addressing other areas in the community that are brought to our attention,” she said.

The years-long drainage plan is being delineated by phases with engineering feedback to determine what work is on tap for 2020/2021.

“That’s why it’s not based on year one, year two [rather] it’s done in phases because we need to see what we can address within a year,” she said. “We’re working to improve the drainage issues because we can’t fix them.”

Operations Manager Colby Phillips