Avondale Estates is considering a portion of the First Baptist Church Avondale Estates lower parking lot as a possible site for a storm retention pond serving the Kensington area. However, there is no timetable for purchasing the land or building the pond, said City Manager Clai Brown.
A 2012 road drainage study of Kensington concluded the city’s storm water system, likely designed in the 1920s, doesn’t have adequate capacity to accommodate 25-year storms, much less more severe rainfall. That report estimated the pond would cost $82,000, not counting land acquisition.
Avondale is also considering a similar study for the 48-acre Clarendon Avenue area, also flood-prone, which would cost $18,000, Brown added.
Storm water issues have become particularly animated in recent months. Brown said that last December the city had 12 inches of rainfall, the single wettest month on record dating to the 1890s. November was the fourth wettest month on record.
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