By David Harry
Staff Writer

Old County Road is a tree-lined street that sometimes gets wet.
Very wet.
After years of seeing standing water in yards, puddles resembling moats in the road and electric bills inflated from operating basement sump pumps, residents may see some relief.
Public Works Director Michael Shaw Tuesday night introduced a plan for an estimated $1.3 million project to resurface the road while improving drainage using a pipeline no longer needed by the Scarborough Sanitary District. He was accompanied by civil engineer Todd Gammon and landscape architect Dan Morabito of South Portland-based OEST Associates.
About 20 residents living on Old County Road and Kimball Road, which intersects it, were asked to contribute thoughts and ideas that might help shape the plan as Shaw prepares for work to begin in the spring.
Nearly all who attended had stories about water that never fully drains from a relatively flat area near the Scarborough Marsh and off Winnock’s Neck Road near Black Point Road.
“It is very aggressive, I thought it was just going to be paving,” said Jim Quimby of the plan.  He has lived on Old County Road for 12 years.
Quimby said he has never had flooding problem, but his neighbor Bruce Lamson said he is ready for a solution to eliminate the extra $150 a month he spends on electricity to run his sump pump.
Shaw said he has long known the road needed replacing, but drainage problems kept Shaw from resurfacing the road. Sand studies have shown gravel underneath the blacktop has worn away over about 30 years.
Last fall, as Sanitary District Supervisor Gary Lorfano proposed a new pumping station to enhance flow to the treatment station on Prouts Neck, he said he told Shaw a pipeline running under Old County Road and eventually flowing to the Nonesuch River was available.
Gammon said the pipe will actually be replaced. By linking drainage systems along the road to the pipe, he anticipates water now flowing into yards will instead drain to the river.
When the pipe is installed, residents will have an opportunity to link to it from their homes. Gammon said much of the water coming from homes will flow by gravity.
Shaw said he would like to have the project out to bid by January and work to be completed by the middle of spring to cut back on possible noise and dust complaints from the project. He expects work to take about 120 days.
However, work on a new pump station in the woods off Old County Road will begin first. Shaw said there will be a four- to six-week lead time for the $2.7 million Sanitary District project the planning board approved Nov.  2.
Substantial changes to a section of road will come with improved road drainage, according to Gammon and Morabito.
Old County Road passes through a subdivision Shaw estimated to be 30 years old. The road features several traffic islands with maple and oak trees spreading a canopy Morabito estimated to be 40 feet wide in some sections.
Shaw said the islands will be eliminated to allow more maneuverability for construction workers. Some islands will be rebuilt six inches above the road surface with smaller trees and vegetation in the center.
Morabito said his landscaping plans try to strike a balance between elegance and a natural look on the street, but acknowledged some residents may feel their neighborhood is losing some of its character.
Ernie Knop, who said he has spent $5,000 to install tiles to help drain his basement and a pump to remove water, said he was happy the road and drainage conditions are being addressed, but one neighbor living on the other side of Winnock’s Neck Road said she was very unhappy to be excluded from plans.
Barbara Silke told Shaw she had been “elated” to get notification of the meeting, which Shaw said was done by e-mail and paper notices.
Her elation turned to disappointment when she learned no work will be done on the stretch of Old County Road between Black Point and Winnock’s Neck Road, despite drainage and safety issues she mentioned.
Gammon and Shaw said connecting that portion of the road to the pipe for drainage may be impractical because the pipe would actually protrude from the ground and not effectively drain standing water.
At the same time, Shaw acknowledged there are problems in the area Silke mentioned and said he would investigate ways to make  improvements in the near future.

Staff writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 219