Councillor Meg McGrath Smith asked the committee on Oct. 28 to get a report from DPW and the city engineer on recurring flooding at the end of Longfellow Road near Route 141, saying residents had experienced blocked driveways and sudden inundation during heavy storms.

"We have a state statute that requires these roads in our city to be passable by a fire truck, by an ambulance, by a police car," McGrath Smith said, explaining the safety concern that prompted the request.

Mike Gallagher of the Department of Public Works told the committee Veolia (the citycontracted stormwater operator) and DPW have completed a series of measures at the site: adjusted grading at a downstream pipe, stone-lining an open culvert, rebuilding a headwall, repairing and cleaning pipes and clearing debris prior to heavy rainfall. Gallagher said MassDOT constructed a culvert to drain water from Route 141 into the basin that receives the runoff, and DPW has been coordinating maintenance to help the basin handle increased flows.

Gallagher cautioned that the July photo shown to the committee reflected an unusually intense rain event and that similarly severe storms cause flooding in other parts of the city as well. "Sometimes, even the best of systems is not going to handle every single event," he said, adding that the city has staged crews and closed roads when large storms are forecast.

City engineering and DPW staff said they would continue to monitor and maintain the drainage and that some events will still overwhelm the system; the committee voted that the request for a report had been complied with based on the presentation.

No new capital appropriation or immediate reconstruction plan was approved at the meeting; staff said further capital work would require scoping, cost estimates and, if needed, appropriation by council.