Revere councilor: Martin Street pump critical to flood relief

REVERE-Ward 5 City Councilor John Powers said the city must find a permanent solution to Martin Street drainage problems in order to eliminate flooding on streets near the high school.Powers said Mayor Thomas Ambrosino has assured him that a pump will be installed at the Martin Street tidal gate in order to handle heavy storm water volumes.?We may see it done by the spring. My concern is it is done as soon as possible,” Powers said.In order to keep streets like Tapley Avenue and Eastern Avenue near the high school lowlands from flooding, the city installs two pumps near the Rumney Marsh Academy construction site and pumps water out to the tidal gate.?Unless the Martin Street pump is in place those pumps will have a minimal effect,” Powers said.The city currently uses a portable pump to handle heavy water volume at the tidal gate. Powers said the temporary solution diverts city public works employees from other duties and provides only limited benefits.The city has spent over $1 million to improve drainage on streets across the city?s center. The main objective of the work is to provide effective drainage for 480 acres of land prone to flooding.In order to ensure the drainage work is effective, the city spent $900,000 over the summer to repair a collapsed culvert near the commuter rail tracks.Mayor Thomas Ambrosino said without the culvert replacements, the drainage improvements would not be effective.The collapse posed major problems for the city because the 24-inch-wide line carried sewage from the eastern side of Revere, including Point of Pines, to pipe connections along American Legion Highway near where Rumney is being built.A company specializing in underground drain work laid temporary drain lines and installed pumps while RF Walsh, the contractor overseeing construction of the new middle school near Revere High School, began overseeing the culvert?s reconstruction.Contractors think the culvert was built on top of wood timbers and other debris and gradually sunk under its own weight into the unstable material.