The Caravel Hunt storm drain needs no further assessment. It is deadly. It needs to be fixed fast. Its storm water hazard review, which Gov. Carper demanded in response to last fall's tragedy, turned up 3,300 storm drains in unincorporated areas and more than 750 storm water management ponds. Increased development in Delaware has impeded the earth's ability to absorb rainwater.
Water sluicing off roofs and pavement has to be drained quickly to avoid flooding.
Developers are required to include storm drainage systems in their plans for new homes. The result is an abundance of storm drains and ponds that can become life-threatening during bad weather. The girls who lost their lives were sucked into a 500-foot culvert in Caravel Hunt, near Glasgow, during the hurricane last October, became trapped and drowned. A third girl was swept through and survived. But as far as those in Caravel Hunt are concerned, nothing was being done.