Atlantic City is embarking on a $22 million project to rebuild the Baltic Avenue Canal to prevent flooding. The plan includes installing pumps, screening systems, and securing grants. The canal, built in 1912, is no longer effective due to rising sea levels. The project aims to improve the quality of life for residents and protect the city from hazardous conditions during storms.
Persistent flooding has led Atlantic City, N.J., to begin construction on a $22 million effort to rebuild the Baltic Avenue Canal in order to protect the city.
As part of the major infrastructure project, crews will install six pumps on the Atlantis Avenue Floodgate system to push out water from the underground tunnel into the waterways of the back bay during major flood events.
The city also will install screening systems at both the Atlantis Avenue and Fisherman's Park pump stations. These systems are designed to remove all litter prior to discharge into the back bay waterways, CBS News Philadelphia reported.
"This has been on the drawing board for years, and we're excited to see it finally happening," Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small said in a recent news release. "This project will go a long way in preventing nuisance flooding in our neighborhoods, ultimately improving the quality of life for our residents and businesses. [We] will become even more resilient thanks to yet another strong partnership between the city and state and federal agencies."
Atlantic City secured grants for the canal improvement from an array of sources, including the United States Economic Development Agency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
In addition, Rutala Associates, a local planning firm, worked with the coastal city to secure funding for the massive project.
Old Waterway Has Reached End of Its Effectiveness
The canal, which was built in 1912, is connected to hundreds of storm drains, and is supposed to remove floodwaters from much of the city. It was designed for stormwater management in much of the city, including portions of the Ducktown, Westside, Midtown, Bungalow Park and Inlet neighborhoods.
The manmade waterway drains 775 acres stretching from south of the Atlantic City Expressway to Absecon Inlet. The canal measures 9,700 ft. in length, is over 10 ft. wide, 8 ft. tall and can store over 1.1 million cu. ft. of stormwater when the flood gates are operational.
However, Rutala, a city consultant, said the canal is just not up to the task any longer.
"Today, with rising sea level and all the different changes," he told the TV news station, "it takes a more sophisticated system to move stormwater."
In July 2023, CBS News Philadelphia noted that Rutgers University scientists found the water surrounding Atlantic City was rising faster than the rest of the planet because of both climate change and a sinking coastline.
During storms and high tides, the problem is heightened as the city becomes more at risk from flooding, which leads to hazardous conditions for people and property damage.
"This project is going to improve the quality of life for residents," Rutala said.
The canal has two outlet structures. One is located at Atlantis Avenue and Beach Thorofare, and the other is at an open canal at Fisherman's Park. Timber flood gates were originally designed to help control stormwater collected on Atlantic, Arctic and Baltic Avenues as well as surrounding streets.
In the past, during high tide events, the gates were closed in order to prevent the tide from entering the system and flooding the streets of Atlantic City. By the 1960s, the timber flood gates on each end of the canal were destroyed and were not operational until just a few years ago.
New 10-ft.-wide stainless-steel sluice gates with titanium bolts and a bronze connector were installed on each end of the canal in 2018, and two pumps were added at the Fisherman's Park site.
Atlantic City Residents Glad to See Improved Canal
Above the canal, along Baltic Avenue, Frank Gilliam and Jeremiah Williams told CBS News Philadelphia that they did not know the canal existed, but they liked the idea of investments into upgrading it.
"Flooding, it makes a problem for a lot of people," explained Williams. "You walk around, see people's cars getting stuck in water and things of that nature, so I think [the rebuild is] a very smart idea."
Gilliam echoed those comments when he added, "I think it's a great investment. Our city's not the biggest, a lot of people don't have cars, so they tend to walk around, [but] it's just hard to walk around in water."
Rutala said he expected the Baltic Avenue Canal improvements to be completed next summer.
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