An ambitious $16.5 million flood mitigation proposal for South Water Street calls for a combination of new flood walls and road-raising, along with design elements to make the downtown waterfront area more attractive and functional. The plan, which requires several steps before it can be approved or funded, focuses on a 1,300-foot stretch of South Water Street, just below Bank Street and a few feet away from railroad tracks. One solution, floated by the Fuss & O’Neill civil and environmental engineering firm to the City Council’s Economic Development Committee earlier this month, proposes building flood walls between 3 and 6 feet near the Amtrak rail lines. The firm said the walls would be sturdy enough to withstand coastal flooding events up to a 100-year flood, which the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, predicts have a 1% chance of occurring each year. The project would require the cooperation of nearby property owners and Amtrak officials. Law said his firm met with several property owners in the spring and will do so again. The project cost was broken down into three segments: $160,000 for tree planting; $1.6 million for drainage; and $14.7 million for road elevation, flood wall and amenity work. Law and Patel said the cost of the project could be covered through a combination of FEMA and state Department of Economic Development grants.
https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240922/new-london-flood-prevention-plan-envisions-linear-park-along-waterfront/