Members of the Friends of the Mary Ellen Welch (MEW) Greenway reported that two sump pumps that were installed years ago to curb flooding on a section of the Greenway have failed. The failure of the pumps has caused recent flooding on the stretch of the MEW Greenway between the Maverick Street Bridge and Marginal Street after heavy rain.
“Both of them failed,” said MEW Greenway member Karen Maddalena.
pumps failed causing the section of the Greenway to flood.
Reading from a letter city officials sent to the group, Maddalena said the Parks Department has ordered the new pumps and is working to fix the problem. Maddalena added the work should take about four to six weeks.
The sump pump failures came after the 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 deployable flood wall that can be used to keep storm surge waters from the Harbor from entering the low-lying greenway.
However, MEW Greenway member Patricia D’Amore said the latest flooding is not related to sea level rise concerns.
“This flooding has nothing to do with sea level rise….it’s the rain,” said D’Amore. “Sea level rise is going to be a problem but this other flooding problem is much more immediate. Every time we have a heavy rainstorm we have flooding.”
D’Amore said years ago the city identified silted drain pipes as the culprit for rain water flooding. The city corrected the issue and added the sump pumps as an added level of protection but D’Amore expressed her frustration.
“It’s one thing after another with the city,” she said. “As far as this flooding is concerned, we just can’t seem to get it resolved. Every single rainstorm is a problem.”