County planners, consultants warn 100-year storms could put dozens of Brentwood-area homes at risk; recommend FEMA remap and targeted pipe repairs

Prince George’s County planners and consultants presented a flood and stormwater risk analysis for the towns of Brentwood and North Brentwood and urged a combination of technical re‑mapping and local repairs to reduce future impacts.

Anu Nair, a planner and project manager with the Prince George’s County planning department, opened the information session and said the study — funded through the county’s Planning Assistance to Municipalities program — was intended to inform Brentwood’s Climate Action Plan. “I’m also joined by our consultants, Charles p Johnson and associate,” Nair said during the presentation.

Consultants from Charles P. Johnson & Associates (CPJ) walked meeting participants through the project’s methods and key findings. Anthony (Tony) Osei, a CPJ consultant, described watershed delineation and modeling using TR‑20/TR‑55 hydrology, 2‑D HEC‑RAS hydraulics and FEMA‑style exposure calculations to estimate runoff, depths and damages. “Garbage in, garbage out,” Osei said, urging care in field data and mapping.

Using that modeling, the team reported that a 100‑year event would put about 121 dwellings in Brentwood and 103 dwellings in North Brentwood at risk. The presentation also included broader displacement estimates — which were stated in more than one way during the session — including references to “over 1,500” people displaced in Brentwood and “over 400” in North Brentwood; the consultants acknowledged numerical summaries and some phrasing that were not fully consistent in the talk.

Kim Truong, an engineer with CPJ, presented results from a storm‑drain adequacy analysis. The team modeled 56 pipes and a set of inlets in priority areas and found that 17 of 56 pipes (about 30%) were inadequate for a 10‑year design storm and 19 of 56 pipes (about 34%) were inadequate for a 100‑year storm. Of the 18 inlets they modeled in detail, nearly 80% failed to meet county interception criteria for the 10‑year storm; Truong said yard inlets tended to perform better.

To address the gaps the consultants recommended: a professional field survey and CCTV inspection of the storm‑drain system to resolve mapping and condition uncertainties; a targeted program of pipe and inlet upsizing or repair where both elements are inadequate (examples flagged include Allison–Wallace/40th, Wyndham–Allison/39th, Volta–Upshur near Bartlett Park and Levee Trail segments); a review of pump‑station capacity and trigger logic tied to the levee side elevation; and stepped maintenance actions such as pre‑storm clearing and litter‑reduction outreach.

Truong described field examples of clogged and buried structures and said some mapped county assets were missing or inconsistent in the field. Because of those data gaps she recommended CCTV inspection and a complete survey before major capital projects. “We recommend performing a full survey and CCTV inspection of the system,” Truong said.

Local officials at the session welcomed the findings and urged follow‑up. Patrilla Robinson, identified at the meeting as mayor of North Brentwood, praised town staff and called the session “very, very informative” while noting the need for funding and joint action. A representative for U.S. Sen. Malcolm Augustine’s office said the senator’s staff would review notes and look into state‑level contacts and resources.

The consultants said the full technical report and presentation materials will be made public when the report is published and that the analysis will be incorporated into the Brentwood Climate Action Plan. The study team and county staff also committed to follow‑up meetings with pump‑station owners to assess capacity and triggers.

Next steps identified at the session are to complete and publish the consultant report, perform the recommended field survey/CCTV inspections, coordinate with pump‑station operators and develop a prioritized maintenance and capital plan for the highest‑risk inlet/pipe locations.

(Reporting based on the Brentwood/North Brentwood information session and consultant presentation; the full technical report was described at the session as forthcoming and will provide detailed maps, appendices and the definitive numeric tables.)