Construction Map (PDF 416KB)

Reduced Floodplain Map After Improvements (PDF 238KB)

Construction on the Canal Importation Ponds & Outfall (CIPO) Drainage Improvement Project began in fall 2007. The completed project:

• Greatly reduced flood risk east of the New Mercer Ditch, including Constitution Avenue to City Park Drive and Elizabeth Street to Prospect Road—high-priority areas that were severely flooded in 1997
• Mapped 175 homes out of the City-regulated floodplain through improvements
• Reduced flooding in areas northeast of Prospect and Taft Hill Roads, including Elizabeth and Shields Streets and CSU
• Improved water quality in Red Fox Meadows Detention Basin and downstream to Heatheridge Ponds
• Improved local street drainage in Suffolk Street, Castlerock, Springfield and Glenmoor Drives and Taft Hill Road
• Eliminated overtopping of Taft Hill Road, south of Prospect Road, during most storms
• Improved conditions at Glenmoor Detention Basin
• Resulted in minor improvements at Avery Pond and Plum Detention Basin

Major project goals were met:

• Protect people and properties from flooding in the Canal Importation Basin
• Map 175 homes out of the City-regulated floodplain through improvements
• Restore and enhance affected wildlife habitat and natural areas
• Improve stormwater quality

The total project budget was $21.5 million over five years and was completed under budget. (Stormwater capital projects are funded through monthly stormwater fees.)