SAUGUS — An Innis Street resident has spent more than half his lifetime and upwards of $100,000 on preventing flood water from entering his home. But during last week’s storm, Jack Perry said he didn’t have to worry.
“I was actually asleep during the storm, and I woke up and didn’t have any problems,” said Perry, 80, who typically spends hours cleaning water from his home every time there’s a heavy rain. His house has had more than three feet of water in the basement
After investing more than $100,000, he started a petition as a last resort. Perry collected nearly 40 signatures from neighbors who also experience flooding problems. They requested up to $1 million of taxpayer money at Town Meeting.
Perry’s intentions were to have a 30-inch drain on the bridge’s north side removed and install a drain on the south side.
Town Meeting signed off on $1.2 million to be invested in repairing the problem in 2016.
“I was amazed that the whole town knew about the situation,” Perry said. “This is a final vote. I was very impressed they all agreed that something needed to be done down here. If they didn’t do anything about it, I’d be at a standstill. I don’t have the money to do anything else.”
Town Manager Scott Crabtree said work has been ongoing for several months and will continue through the winter.
“Hopefully it will alleviate some of the flooding issues,” he said. “There’s no guarantee, but we try to look for a solution that would have the best results for alleviating those flooding issues. It’s a much-needed investment in our infrastructure.”
The drainage problem affects Perry and more than a dozen neighbors in the Elm Street area, who have water backing up onto their property.
“They have definitely changed some of the infrastructure,” said Crabtree. “During that storm, I was out and it appeared there weren’t as many flooding issues there that were in other parts of town.”
A 2015 report by CDM Smith, a Boston-based engineering and construction firm, said the flooding occurs because of insufficient capacity in the culvert, or tunnel beneath the road. The existing drainage system is undersized and inadequate, according to the report.
Flooding is said to be particularly severe in areas along Alvah, Innis, Holland and Saville streets.
In 2014, Saugus received a $1.3 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to fund a portion of the cost to remove the culvert, increase drainage along the street, and install additional catch basins.
The plan would have removed the bridge and widened the river, Crabtree said. But, officials disagreed on the project and it did not move forward.
Since the grant had already been offered to the town and went unused, Crabtree said Saugus is no longer eligible for the financial assistance. Instead, the money will be borrowed and paid for through the operating budget. Crabtree said it will not impact taxpayers.