Homeowner says Cambridge Quarters lot built below required elevation; board discusses fixes and town hall

Resident (Mister Long) told the Howard County Drainage Board that his house in the Cambridge Quarters subdivision flooded in mid-June after the lot was built below the elevation shown on an engineer’s overview plat recorded in 1996 and without required drainage features.

Why it matters: Long said the house flooded with about 14 inches of water on June 14 and estimated $125,000–$150,000 in damage; he said the subdivision’s approved overview by engineer Mister Bassett called for 24 inches of backfill, a detention pond behind his property and a curb/gutter transition at 500 West that were not built. County staff and the highway engineer discussed several possible fixes including cleaning or upsizing culverts, tying into an off‑site 15‑inch tile, and holding a town hall to seek landowner agreement for a larger off‑site repair.

Long began by referencing a Bassett plan he said was recorded Jan. 12, 1996, and read requirements from that overview: “They are to be backfilled by 24 inches,” he said. He told the board, “I had 14 inches of water in my home on June 14. Had this been backfilled to 2 feet, my home probably would not have flooded.” He said a planned retention pond behind his lot was not built and that the current culvert under the road appears to be 12 inches, not the 15 inches he was told at a prior meeting. Long…