Old Lyme – Beach officials are hopeful an imminent plan to clear a blocked pipe leading to Long Island Sound and fixing the protective crib around it will help dry out flood-plagued neighborhoods in two adjacent beach areas.

The flooding, which has been discussed since before the pandemic, will now be addressed using $55,000 of the town’s total $2.16 million allocation in federal COVID-relief aid.

The 80-year-old drainage system at the Swan Brook outlet has been deteriorating for years, according to Miami Beach Association President Mark Mongillo and Hawks Nest Beach Association Vice President Ron Bianca.

From Swan Brook, which runs between the two beach associations, the system flows in two concrete pipes under the beach to Long Island Sound. The outlet is on Hawks Nest Beach Association property.

Mongillo and Bianca said storms have destroyed the wooden structure designed to keep sand out of the pipes, leaving one of the 36-inch concrete pipes perpetually clogged as subsequent storms continue to push sand in where water should be coming out.

Residents who have complained about the flooding include a Corsino Avenue woman who told the Zoning Commission more than a year ago that the deluge frequently left her unable to leave her home by car multiple times per week.

Mongillo said the town public works department has come in with a backhoe to dig out the blockages, while other times the association’s property manager has shoveled it out himself.

They welcomed approval this week by the Old Lyme Board of Selectmen for a plan to clear the clogged pipe that will allow for the reconstruction of the wooden structure protecting it.

The project will be funded with federal pandemic relief dollars allocated at the recommendation of a committee made up of town staff members and residents. The committee this summer recommended $55,000 for the total project, which was approved by selectmen as part of the town’s overall $2.1 million American Rescue Plan package that same month.

The total includes engineering costs, cleaning out the pipes and the crib work, First Selectman Timothy Griswold said.

Selectmen on Tuesday authorized $2,000 per eight-hour day for Rhode Island-based Monster-Vac LLC to bring in a truck to clear the pipes. The estimate from the company, which described the pipe as “loaded” with material, indicated it would take three days to jet the contents out of the pipe – though it “could be less.”

The low bid was chosen over one from Berlin-based Drain Doctor, Inc. that added up to more than $5,000 per day, plus a one-time $1,500 fee to mobilize and demobilize multiple trucks.

Griswold said he hopes weather will cooperate with a plan to clear out the pipe during the week of January 16, when low tide is expected from late morning to early afternoon as the week progresses. He said that leaves time to work for four hours before low tide and four hours after.

The local Machnik Bros. general contracting firm will replace the wood on the pilings once the pipes are cleared for $35,000, according to Griswold. He said the crib includes a series of pilings with horizontal wooden planks bolted to them that extend roughly 30 feet into the water to shield the outflow so sand and debris can’t get in. The crib will retain its current footprint.

Griswold said the town has secured a certificate of permission from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection for the crib project.

Mystic-based Docko Inc. previously came up with a preliminary plan and rough cost estimate up to $150,000 for a more extensive and expensive crib project. It would have replaced the wood planks with galvanized sheet pile and altered the footprint to enhance protection from the elements. Griswold said changes like that require a DEEP permit instead of a certificate, which would take between a year and 18 months to acquire.

“For expedience and cost, we’re replacing what was there,” he said.

He estimated the approved fix should last for about 10 years. Meanwhile, more large-scale or longer-lasting changes can be explored.

Meeting minutes from 2008 show selectmen authorized $6,200 for improvements to the Swan Brook outlet structure.

Mongillo, of Miami Beach, said he has concerns about the current, mostly head-on orientation of the pipe that causes storms heading from west to east to throw sand into the pipes.

But Griswold said the design isn’t changing because that would require a state permit.

“This has been in bad shape, so we said, ‘Let’s do this,’” he said.

Bianca, of Hawks Nest, said he believes the fix will resolve the issues since the crib was effective when it was intact.

“It’s taken quite a while to get here, but we do have a plan and I think we’re all pretty much on the same page with this,” he said.

An early part of the years-long effort to address the flooding problem involved disagreement about who should foot the bill to resolve an issue affecting multiple beaches. Then town attorney John A. (Jack) Collins II in the summer of 2021 advised Griswold the system is the town's responsibility because that's who built the system in the late 1940s and has repaired it since.

Meeting minutes from the Flood and Erosion Control Board show the issue came up in July 2019 when members discussed the belief held by the administration that taxpayers don't fund projects on private property.

e.regan@theday.com