Updated: $40,000 Paradise Drainage Study Underway

(See the study summary at the bottom.)

A lower Paradise Road drainage study is underway as the engineering contractor measures stormwater flow and collects video of drainage pipe conditions.

The study and a solution can come none too soon for residents who live nearby and regularly combat flood water to protect their homes.

On Tuesday, crews from Kleinfelder engineering were collecting video of the 36-inch drainage pipe below Paradise Road near the intersection with Swampscott Avenue, said DPW Director Gino Cresta.

They are collecting video from other locations in the network of drainage pipes.

Also, for the past five to six weeks, underground meters have been collecting information about the flow of stormwater piped from that section of Paradise Road to King's Beach where it empties into the harbor and ocean, the DPW director said.

The director hopes the engineering firm will have a recommendation for the town by late winter/early spring.

The drainage investigation should glean information on whether or not pipes are cracked or broken and whether there is silt inside of them and whether their size is adequate.

Town Meeting approved $40,000 for the study last spring and residents plagued by flooding clamored at a selectmen's meeting earlier this fall for the study to get underway.

Selectmen urged the town administrator to move on the study.

Below is a summary of the ongoing drainage study for lower Paradise Road.

The following activities of the scope will be completed this year:

1.       Physical inspection of the drainage culvert between Paradise Road and Banks Circle. Started Tuesday 12/4.

2.       Complete necessary field work to verify GIS mapping of drainage records.

3.       Develop physical model elements in XP-SWMM in preparation for calibration, but do not perform any model runs.

The following activities will be completed next year (late winter/early spring) prior to Annual Town Meeting:

1.       Finish flow metering

2.       Calibration hydraulic model

3.       Run up to three (3) test scenarios of the model

4.       Prepare a report summarizing possible alternatives to alleviate flood issues within the Lower Paradise Road area.