By Matthew K. Roy
Staff writer
September 04, 2008 05:46 am PEABODY — Work has begun on drainage improvements that will prevent flooding at the police station. It took a man-made, 4-foot dam to save the station during the Mother's Day flood of 2006. Water still damaged the bottom floor of police headquarters, which is in a low-lying area behind Eastman Gelatine. The city is using $225,000 of a flood mitigation grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to complete a three-phase project at the station on Allen's Lane. The first phase includes installation of a drainage-pump station, 150 feet of 12-inch PVC piping and four manholes. A flood-buffering berm on the south side of the property will also be reinforced, according to City Engineer Robert Langley. Estimated to cost $83,000, Phase 1 is expected to be finished by the end of this month. Additional flood storage areas will be added to the property before the end of the year as part of Phase II. Phase III, slated to be done by next spring, is a new emergency generator for the station. "This should go a long way to improve (the flooding) situation," Langley said.
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