CRISFIELD, Md.- Flooded roads and sidewalks may sound like a nightmare for some, but for people in Crisfield, it's become all too common.
But now, the city is taking action. The City of Crisfield and Somerset County has contracted with the environmental engineering firm, Bayland Consultants and Designers, Inc., to evaluate the city's drainage system and come up with solutions.
For local business owners like Troella Tyznik of My Fair Lady Bed and Breakfast, this is a significant step forward.
She said, "It needs to be, you know, taken care of. It is necessary, and Crisfield needs to survive. It will survive, but it will not be able to survive if it is affected time after time by the floods."
No matter the cost, President of Annemessex Plumbing and Heating Bill Buttrill knows how important it is to fix the city's drainage problem.
"How much of our time and money do we want to devote to making these corrections? For the people living here today, no amount of money is enough, because it impacts our lives day to day," he says.
Businesses are not the only ones affected by the flooding. Elmer and Josephine Barkley and their neighbors have seen their backyards turned into lakes time after time. For them, any step forward is a good one.
In the end those who live in Crisfield will always be ready for what the Chesapeake Bay throws at them.
Troella said, "We are very strong individuals here in Crisfield. We don't ask help from anybody, we help ourselves. and whatever happens, we pick up and go. Then we help others when we are able to help."
The City of Crisfield says this assessment will run intermittently through the month of September, and could run into October if the weather doesn't cooperate.