What’s happening?
Turner Station residents have been experiencing recurring floods in May and early August for years, Scott Dance reports for the Baltimore Sun. Now supplied with a recent Army Corps of Engineers study detailing the risks of the problem and possible solutions to stem the flow of water, residents of this historically Black area are advocating for their community and urging Baltimore County to implement relief measures.
What are the consequences of the flooding?
In addition to property damage, residents of Turner Station partly attribute the drop in their community’s population to the floods. Though about 10,000 residents once called Turner Station home, the area now holds only about 3,000 people. And residents worry that without solutions, the history and spirit of Turner Station—a town founded in the late 1800s for Black workers at the old steel mill in Sparrows Point—could be lost.
“We’ve got to get stuff done. We can’t keep putting it off,” said Olivia Lomax, a resident and member of Turner Station Conservation Teams.
Residents have proposed ideas that could help alleviate some of the damage from the floods, including a pumping system, redirection or filtration of runoff from neighboring areas on higher ground, flood walls, or financing relocations for residents.
Anything else I should know?
The Army Corps of Engineers began their study back in 2019, following complaints from residents. In the past, the Corps has included an action plan with an estimated budget in similar studies, such as the $134 million flood protection plan for Baltimore City. But the Turner Station report did not include this provision.
You can read more here.
