Earlier this week the Boston Parks and Recreation Department replaced the sump pumps on the Mary Ellen Welch (MEW) Greenway near Maverick Street that had failed earlier this year during heavy rain.
These new pumps will activate after heavy rains to keep the MEW Greenway paths that are susceptible to flooding open and dry.
In February two sump pumps that were installed years ago to curb flooding on a section of the greenway failed. The failure of the pumps caused flooding on the stretch of the MEW Greenway between the Maverick Street Bridge and Marginal Street after heavy rain.
The sump pump failures came after the former Mayor Walsh Administration appropriated $400,000 in the city’s budget last year to protect the MEW Greenway from sea level rise. A few years back the city purchased a flood wall that can be used to keep storm surge waters from the Harbor from entering the low-lying greenway.
However, the flooding earlier this year was not related to sea level rise, but rainwater runoff that the failed pumps couldn’t drain fast enough.
Years ago the city identified silted drain pipes as the culprit for rain water flooding. The city corrected the issue and added sump pumps as an added level of protection.
Already, the new pumps seem to be working and after last Thursday night’s rain there was no reported flooding on the MEW Greenway.