By Liz Holland

Salisbury could benefit from the new federal infrastructure bill which includes money to address problems created by climate change, including flooding on city streets and in neighborhoods.

On Monday morning, U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Mayor Jake Day walked along the waterfront in some of the most flood-prone areas of the city, starting in front of the dog park, past Brew River and into the marina before looping back along Fitzwater Street.

Salisbury and other coastal communities in Maryland are in a crisis as the incidents of rising waters are on the increase, Day said. In recent years, the city has had incidents of catastrophic flooding not only along Fitzwater, but also the Canal Woods community and along Germania Circle and Lake Street.

“2016, 2017, 2018 brought the worst floods in living memory in Salisbury, and possibly the worst ever,” he said.

The damages in 2016 were particularly bad. A September thunderstorm that brought an historic amount of rain washed out area roads and caused the condemnation of nearly 70 houses in Salisbury.

The same storm forced the evacuation of the Canal Woods condominiums after there were concerns the nearby Morris Mill Dam might fail. Several ground floor units also were flooded by the rising Tony Tank Creek, causing the condemnation of two buildings at the complex.

The city also had two small areas of road wash out – one on North Park Drive near Village in the Park, the second on Burton Street between Cypress and Lake streets.  A small sinkhole also was reported at the intersection of East William Street and Route 13. 

Elsewhere in Wicomico County, storms that year washed out sections of Barren Creek Road, Snow Hill Road and Nanticoke Road causing closures and detours that lasted for weeks and months.

Not all of the flooding has been catastrophic. Nuisance flooding along Fitzwater Street and other areas near the river is becoming even more frequent. The city recently allocated emergency funding for tidal gates to alleviate some of the flooding on Fitzwater, but more money is needed, Day said.

The city also has plans for a $4.5 million flood mitigation park along the North Prong of the Wicomico River that will reduce the amount of impervious surface and help prevent damages to homes and businesses in the vicinity.

While there is no shortage of ways to address the problems, there is a lack of funding, Day said.

Salisbury is not alone in dealing with the effects of climate change, Van Hollen said. Around the country, communities are experiencing a range of disasters from flooding to drought.

“The reality is that these climate change events are only going to accelerate,” he said.

The new $50 billion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will help alleviate some of those problems, Van Hollen said. Maryland will see $7 billion over the next five years with money going toward hardening major infrastructure such as roads, bridges and water and sewer systems.

The legislation includes $8.7 billion in the PROTECT Program for evacuation routes, coastal resilience, making existing infrastructure more resilient, or efforts to move infrastructure to nearby locations not continuously impacted by extreme weather and natural disasters. Salisbury is eligible to apply for some of that grant funding, he said.

The bill also includes $6 billion for Army Corps of Engineers construction projects to help address the huge backlog of authorized projects that have yet to receive funding. Included under Corps construction are specific funding set-asides for Coastal Storm Risk Management/Hurricane and Storm Damage Reduction Projects, $2.5 billion for Inland Flood Risk Management Projects and Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Projects.

Van Hollen and Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., both supported the bill which recently passed both houses of Congress. U.S. Rep Andy Harris, a Republican who represents the Eastern Shore, voted against it in the House.

From 2010 to 2020, Maryland experienced 31 extreme weather events, costing the state up to $10 billion in damages, Van Hollen said. Flooding in cities like Salisbury and Annapolis have had a severe impact on homeowners and businesses.

“As we’re seeing here, we can’t wait because we’re already seeing the consequences of severe flooding,” he said.