Politics & Government

Lawrence Proposes Pumps to Stem Flooding

Village hopes to install devices to drain water into bay.

Village of Lawrence officials hope to install pumps to prevent its streets from getting flooded.

“The water doesn’t have a place to go,” Mayor Martin Oliner said at Thursday’s board meeting. “The notion is to keep [residents’] pipes clean.”

Phillip Konigsberg, who attended the meeting, told the board that flooding has gotten so bad on his street that five of his cars were totaled. He said he fears for his family’s welfare since emergency vehicles wouldn’t be able to get to his house in a flood.

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If granted Department of Environmental Conservation approval, the village will install pumps at the Lawrence Yacht and Country Club golf course. A flotation device would signal the pumps to discharge the water whenever the water gets too high. The water would then be pumped into a 60-inch pipe that discharges into the bay.

Oliner said that he’s discussed the village’s flooding problem with engineering firms, which would charge the village hundreds of thousands of dollars just to do a study. Instead, the village will contract pump companies for about $85,000.

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“Our proposal is to invest the money and try it,” Oliner said. “We’re not holding back on any expense in engineering.”


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