York Town News
Storm Drain: Short Sands and Long Sands flooded with freshwater in storm
By Jennifer L. Saunders
Rising waters from days of rain throughout the region pour through a drainage channel under Long Beach Avenue, cutting rivers into the sands of Long Sands Beach. Above, hearty beach-walkers and their dog take in the erosion as water pours onto the beach.
Photo by Paul R. Ladd III
"Even in '78 it wasn't like this," Police Chief Douglas Bracy said of the impact of the Blizzard of 1978 on York Beach. "I've never seen a freshwater event like this."
Bracy, who was born and raised in York, said even the police station sustained flooding on its lower level as inches of rain water attempted to find a way to drain through saturated ground.
Selectmen Chairman Dave Marshall, who served for many years on the town's Planning Board, said the town would continue to focus on the drainage concerns at the beach.
"Everything behind that front row of Long Sands is underwater," he confirmed as the waters continued to rise on Sunday.
Selectman Torbert Macdonald Jr., who is a former Conservation Commission and Planning Board member, said this week's flooding is literally the tip of the iceberg of what could happen to York Beach because of its current drainage problems.
This was the result of rainwater alone, Macdonald said, not a combination of an ocean storm, northeaster and/or hurricane event with the moon tides and a rain event. In that case, he said, there would be nowhere for the beach to drain.
Bracy had a similar perspective.
"This had everything to do with freshwater and nothing to do with the ocean," he said.
Macdonald called a combined storm event "our version of the San Andreas Fault. It is going to happen … Let's be adults and face this."
Town Planner Steve Burns noted the Planning Board would devote time during its May 25 meeting for a storm follow-up discussion. As part of that meeting, he said, the board will compile information, evaluate impacts and see what is to be learned from this experience with respect to land use planning.
Macdonald said the town's first step should be to pay close attention to the drainage study that will be coming out in the weeks ahead.
"This is only half of the potential event," Macdonald said of the damage of the flood. "It's an illustrated event of the freshwater side of the York drainage problem."
York Beach is built on former sand dunes and ponds filled in during the expansion of the Boston and Maine railroad in the 1880s, he said.
"We just really dodged a serious bullet because we didn't receive any input from the ocean," he said. "That's what saved York Beach."
With the drainage study, Macdonald said, the town will also be able to analyze the pollution entering Long Sands Beach and look at it as a long-term problem to be addressed by the Sewer District, Water District and town. Macdonald, Marshall and some local residents who attended a town-wide informational session Monday have all praised the response by the town.
At the meeting, Sewer District Superintendent Tim Haskell said the district is handling the excess water with only two minor infiltration issues - with about 90 percent of the seven million gallons going through the system right now being drainage from the storm. Normally, he said, the Sewer District handles only about 800,000 to 900,000 gallons at this time of year in total.
Water District Superintendent Don Neumann added the dams are holding and crews have been monitoring and working at Chase's Pond in the interest of public safety, including dropping the water level to be sure the reservoir could handle the added water.
"We've had great cooperation with the York Water District and Kittery Water District in terms of the dams," Bracy noted.
Macdonald agreed.
"If we can keep that attitude, that spirit and that cooperation going, in the next five years or so we can really turn our growth area round," he said.
Associate Editor Jennifer L. Saunders can be reached via e-mail at jsaunders@yorkindependent.net.
