The City of Newport on Thursday announced that Newport’s Department of Utilities will be hosting an informational meeting at the Claiborne Pell Elementary School on Thursday, Oct. 7th at 5 p.m. to listen and learn from local stakeholders about their experiences with flooding in the neighborhood.
Over the last several years, the City says that residents immediately downstream of the Pell School on Dudley Avenue have reported experiencing flooding on their properties during significant storm events. Neighbors have linked this flooding to past school expansions, and current plans for improvements at the school have heightened neighbors’ concerns about increasing flood impacts.
As part of construction currently underway at the Pell School, the City says that it is looking to better understand the causes of the flooding experienced by the school’s downstream neighbors and explore potential alternatives that could reduce the scale and frequency of those events.
All those interested in attending Thursday’s meeting, and sharing their stories, are invited to meet at 5 p.m. in the eastern driveway of the Pell School. Information gleaned from the public will help inform an ongoing study regarding existing drainage conditions and flooding analysis.
The findings of that study will be presented in an additional public meeting to be announced at a later date. Both public meetings are intended to create an opportunity for the public to share their experiences in the area and all are welcome to attend.
COVID protocols as directed by the meeting locations will be followed.