By Adam Swift
Consultants presented the plans for a storm water engineering project in the Tileston and Girdlestone neighborhood with an estimated price tag of $4-$4.5 million at last week’s town council meeting.
The project calls for improved and larger underground pipes in the neighborhood, as well as a new 48-inch outfall pipe on Pleasant Park Yacht Club property.
The proposed project would address the storm water and flooding issues that have plagued Tileston and Girdlestone and provide an upgrade for surrounding streets, according to engineers from Woodard and Curran.
While funding for the construction of the project is still to be determined, the Woodard and Curran engineers said permitting is ongoing for the project, and that it could be ready to go out to bid in the spring of 2027, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.
Currently, when it rains in the neighborhood, the water travels through a network of pipes to a 12-inch outfall pipe next to Captain Jack’s Marina.
“So when you have an inch of rain, that whole area has to be conveyed by the drainage system, which is a big challenge given the size of the existing pipes,” said Robert Angelo of Woodard and Curran.
The majority of the pipes leading to the 12-inch outfall are 8-10 inch clay pipes, Angelo said. The low elevation of the neighborhood only adds to the stormwater drainage challenges, he added.
“The existing system is not sized adequately for today’s rainfall intensities … by today’s design standards and it is heavily influenced by the tide,” said Angelo.
The water can pond in the roadway, making it difficult for motorists and emergency responders, and it also taxes the infrastructure and causes property damage.
The engineers looked at several potential locations for the outfall pipe before settling on the edge of the Pleasant Park Yacht Club property, which allows for easier access for maintenance.
“We’re putting in bigger pipes, so we’re upsizing and increasing the capacity for flow and volume storage,” said Angelo.
The project is designed to handle a storm that would drop five inches of rain on the region in a 24-hour period.
“That is consistent with MassDOT’s projects and is pretty consistent for this type of roadway drainage system,” said Angelo. “One of the biggest and most important parts of this is putting backflow prevention on the outfall to prevent that tidal surcharge and prevent the tide from controlling the water level in the drainage system.”
After the presentation from Woodard and Curran, councilors discussed the potential price tag, the overall impact on the town, and the easement with the yacht club.
Precinct 1 Councilor Pat Costigan asked if there was a way to take a shorter-term approach to more immediately meet the needs of Tileston and Girdlestone rather than the larger project presented by Woodard and Curran.
“There’s a lot here, and obviously it is a very big project; I’m somewhat surprised it is this large,” said Costigan, noting that it incorporated streets in addition to Tileston and Girdlestone. “Let’s not forget why we are here, the issue is Girdlestone and the flooding on Girdleston. We are now incorporating other areas of that location and incorporating a 48 (inch) line now.”
Councilor-at-Large Max Tassinari said it was important to look at the project as a long-term commitment to the town.
“We want to save our town, not just two streets, we want to save our town from the tidal inundation and the floodwater inundation and this is a great way to start,” he said.
While the price was higher than Tassinari said he thought the project would come in at when planning initially got underway more than three years ago, he said that is where the town needs to be to gain the capacity in the stormwater drainage system.
Council President Jim Letterie stated that last week’s presentation by Woodard and Curran was informational, but that he was looking to have the firm back before the council in the near future for a public hearing in which residents could ask questions about the plan.
Precinct 3 Councilor Joseph Romano did request that Woodard and Curran provide any additional information or presentations on the project to the council several days prior to any meetings.