August 9 – The Mills administration on Friday awarded $25.2 million in storm recovery grants to 39 towns and cities in Maine, including funding for a new storm drain in Portland’s Old Harbor designed to reduce flooding on the seafront and sewage discharges in the port.
The donations come from a $60 million fund created this year to improve the state’s infrastructure and make it more resilient to storms like those that devastated coastal and inland communities last winter.
Portland’s central waterfront is vulnerable to flooding, especially during high tide storms, and was inundated during storms in January and March. During the January floods, several businesses, including J’s Oyster Bar, were underwater.
High tide during the Jan. 13 storm peaked at 14.57 feet at Ocean Gateway in Portland, breaking the previous record of 14.17 feet set on Feb. 7, 1978, according to the National Weather Service office in Gray.
The Old Port flooded again during a March storm, although not as severely as in January.
The new round of $25 million grants includes $3.6 million for the city of Portland, which will contribute $635,000 to complete stormwater improvements. The city will install a new separate 42-inch storm drain under Commercial Street between Center and Maple streets that will discharge stormwater into the Portland Harbor near the fish dock.
“This should be a huge win for the city,” said Bill Boornazian, water resources manager for Portland Public Works. “We will be installing a new, larger storm drain that does not currently exist.”
Stormwater from the Old Port now drains into a combined system that treats both sanitary sewage and rainwater. In dry conditions, combined sewers transport sanitary wastewater and stormwater to the city’s sewage treatment plant. But when it rains, the treatment plant and drainage system become overwhelmed and the combined wastewater overflows, causing flooding and contaminating Casco Bay.
The 42″ drain is twice as large as the current 18″ drain on Commercial Street, and because it will be separate from the wastewater system, it will drain more efficiently into the harbor and will no longer carry untreated sewage, Boornazian said. The new system should be able to handle 25-year storms, he said.
Boornazian expects construction of the new drain to begin in the fall of 2025 and be completed in the spring of 2026, to try to avoid the tourist season as much as possible. One travel lane will be kept open on Commercial Street during construction to maintain traffic flow.
Governor Janet Mills said in a written statement that “we are working closely with cities to take decisive action that will protect our people, our communities and our economy from the destructive impacts of climate change. These important awards will help communities across the world as Maine recovers from last winter’s storms and upgrades its infrastructure to be better prepared for the future.”
The $25.2 million in funding comes from $60 million approved by the Legislature this year, which was specifically set aside to improve infrastructure to make it more storm-resistant.
Bruce Van Note, commissioner of the Maine Department of Transportation, said “severe weather events can wreak havoc on the infrastructure that connects us. This funding will help us rebuild these connections and increase their resiliency for the future.”
Other projects funded by the $25.2 million grants include:
— $4 million to the Rumford-Mexico Sewer District to renovate and flood-proof the wastewater pumping station.
— $1.05 million to Norridgewock Water District to improve main water transmission line.
— $475,000 to Machiasport to move an exposed portion of Port Road 1,035 feet inland.
— $200,000 to Lewiston to replace culverts on River Road so they can better handle heavy water flow.
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