By Greg Ellison
(Sept. 17, 2020) The Ocean Pines Board reviewed proposed revisions for drainage upgrade plans around Bainbridge Park and improvements in other community areas, while also holding a ceremonial vote last week to ensure Worcester County officials would support receipt of state grant funding.
OPA President Larry Perrone said the update during the board meeting on Sept. 9 was due to concerns over the associations’ cost to address stormwater runoff around Bainbridge Pond after the Maryland Department of Natural Resources recently awarded a grant for $549,000 out of $1.58 million requested.
“The whole purpose of tonight’s presentation on this project was to bring all the board members up to speed,” he said.
General Manager John Viola reviewed revised financials for the Bainbridge work, which had been estimated at $2.2 million, during a presentation of numerous drainage upgrades to be funded over the next two years.
“Some things have changed and we have a plan,” he said.
Director of Logistics and Operations Colby Phillips, who presented a detailed drainage plan involving eight project sections located throughout the Pines, said the Bainbridge updates have been needed for decades.
“The project has been a long time coming,” she said.
Phillips said the first two project sections of the overall drainage plan include Bainbridge Pond and associated outfall areas.
“The original project scope submitted for funding was $2.2 million,” she said. “We were looking to put two more culverts under Beauchamp Road and the addition to the stand-alone pond that’s … over at Windmill.”
Viola said a major cost cutting measure involved abandoning the pursuit of drainage rights-of-way easements on the former Old Pine Shore Golf Course property north of Beauchamp Road.
“It drops the cost of sections one and two to about $800,000 overall,” he said.
Viola said that number includes about $486,000 for the Bainbridge work and roughly $318,000 earmarked to improve water outfall channels and replace failing metal culvert pipes along Beaconhill, Sandyhook and Pinehurst roads.
The cost balance beyond the $549,000 DNR grant is about $255,000, which the OPA intends to pay for with replacement reserve funds.
“We have an analysis and our controller has broken it out,” he said. “We have about $500,000 to $510,000 left in there and we’re going to use about $250,000.”
Phillips said the current scope of work around Bainbridge is intended to improve water quality and flood resiliency.
“We’re going to retrofit Bainbridge Pond by making it current with [state] wet pond regulations,” she said.
Plans include improving the gravel road by Bainbridge Park and building a new drainage swale downslope in the direction of adjacent private properties.
“That will help give some cushion to the water that flows in their backyard,” she said.
Other upgrades include installing both a smaller pool pond in front of Bainbridge Pond and wetland aquatic benches, which are plants used to assist water filtration.
“It will reduce the shoreline erosion there,” she said.
The project includes outfall structure upgrades such as building a small-scale dam, or weir, to control water flow during storm events.
“This will help control the water levels and can slow them down with potentially larger storms,” she said. “We can control that ourselves.”
Phillips said Bainbridge Pond affects roughly 12 percent of the Ocean Pines community.
Other upgrades include replacing a pair of 15-inch corrugated metal pipes.
“They rust over time and deteriorate,” she said. “They’re going to be switched with a high density poly pipe.”
Lastly, the drainage swale ditch connected to Bainbridge Pond would be improved.
“We’ll be excavating the clay soils from the bottom and replacing it with sand and planting soil mix,” she said. “Anything we disturb there will be replanted.”
Phillips said Ocean Pines was awarded the DNR grant on the basis of lowering waterway pollutants.
“We’re going to be reducing total nitrogen by 1,535 pounds a year, phosphorous by 174 pounds per year and total suspended solids by 90 tons a year,” she said.
The culvert work slated for Beaconhill Road and along Pinehurst includes installing reinforced concrete.
“The reason we’re doing that instead of an actual pipe is because it provides flexibility to meet the design requirements and the site conditions,” she said.
Phillips said concrete allows for narrower excavation limits and reduces compaction levels.
“With the retrofitting of the pond, we are slowing down the water and able to control the flow,” she said.
Phillips said the overall drainage plan also includes improving outfall swales at three sections between Sandyhook and Pinehurst roads, Beauchamp to Pinehurst Road and Beaconhill Road, with future grants required to cover the $175,000 estimated cost.
“We are seeking future funding opportunities to continue work throughout Ocean Pines,” she said.
Phillips said the Maryland Coastal Bays Program, whose officials helped sniff out the current DNR grant money, is continuing to look for financing.
“That would be retrofitting of the drainage swales to remove the limiting confining layers of silt, leaf and organic material by replacing it with sand, plant and spoil mixture,” she said.
The material change would allow for seasonal runoff and provide improved resiliency during storm events.
“In the meantime, Ocean Pines Public Works will maintain those ditches,” she said.
Viola said the next steps would include writing the particulars of a bid solicitation for Bainbridge Pond work, along with presenting project details to the Maryland Board of Public Works before approval and acceptance of grant funds from Worcester County.