Howard County kicks off Ellicott City flood tunnel construction this summer

Construction on the massive, mile-long tunnel designed to divert flash flooding from Old Ellicott City will begin this summer, Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said Monday.

The 18-foot tunnel will collect stormwater along the steep-sided valley to keep it out of the historic mill town, which experienced catastrophic, deadly floods in 2011, 2016 and 2018, and carry it down to the Patapsco River.

Ball announced that work would start this summer while standing 150 feet under Old Ellicott City in an access shaft for the project. He was joined by Del. M. Courtney Watson, state Senators Guy Guzzone and Katie Fry Hester, and Heather Owens, who survived the 2016 flood.

On their way back from a matinee movie, Owens and her partner, Joe Blevins, made an unexpected pit stop on Main Street when rain started to pour down. More than 6 inches fell in short order.

With the parking lot filling with water, the couple decided to make the 15-minute drive home. But they didn’t get very far as the rushing water kept rising and her Owens’ Honda Civic got stuck. As she pulled herself out of the passenger window, she saw Blevins similarly extricating himself from the driver’s side.

It was the last time she saw him alive.

While she managed to cling to a tree branch, he was one of two people killed in the July 30, 2016, flood. The other was Jessica Watsula, who also was swept from a car by the rushing floodwaters rushing down Main Street.

“Flooding isn’t just water. It’s loss. It’s trauma,” Owens said Monday morning. “It’s something that stays with you long after the streets are dry.”

The tunnel is part of Howard County’s ambitious Ellicott City Safe and Sound flood mitigation plan. The tunnel will have the capacity to channel 26,000 gallons of water per second, county officials have said.

Ball made the announcement in front of Rocky, the tunnel-boring machine that will excavate the tunnel. When Rocky is running, it will feel like a big truck driving by, county officials said. Ball said the project remains on schedule, with the tunnel’s completion expected for December 2027.

The county has secured $350 million for the entire Safe and Sound project through a mix of low-interest loans, state and federal grants, and local investments.

“When I took office, I made a promise to our Ellicott City businesses and neighbors and everyone who loves Historic Ellicott City,” Ball said. “A promise that would not simply rebuild from those devastating floods but that we would build back better, stronger and more resilient.”

“We are keeping that promise. Ellicott City Safe and Sound is one of the most ambitious plans in our nation’s history,” Ball added.

Other projects in the flood mitigation plan include five stormwater retention ponds, two stormwater conveyance projects, debris management, a flash flood alert system and signage directing the public toward high ground in case of flooding.

Three of the retention ponds have been completed, Ball said.

“This tunnel is more than a project. It represents action, it represents listening, and it represents a commitment to protect lives and to make sure what happened to us is never forgotten and never repeated if it can be prevented,” Owens said.

Watson returned to public life because of the Ellicott City floods. As the former District 1 County Council member who had represented Ellicott City, Watson has fought to fund for the flood mitigation project as a member of the General Assembly.

“Ellicott City is safe, Ellicott City is sound and Ellicott City will continue to shine for future generations,” Watson said.

Ball said the Safe and Sound plan matters because of the residents and small-business owners of Ellicott City. It’s about replacing fear with certainty and anxiety with hope, Ball said.

“Ellicott City’s story is shaped by the people, shaped by the small businesses who love this place deeply who have invested in it, fought for it and who refuse to let it fade away into that good night,” he said.