The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) plans to install a new pump station near Phillips Candy House and Boston Bowl as part of the effort to reduce flooding in that area of Morrissey Boulevard and the new Neponset Greenway extension, where tidal events and storms often result in high water.

The state agency explained its plan to the Boston Conservation Commission at a meeting last Wednesday (Dec. 11). Though the project has not yet gone out to bid, DCR estimates the station will cost $3 million. A previous phase of the project is being constructed within the development of the Greenway extension.

“The purpose of the project is to construct a pump station that will alleviate flooding that occurs on Morrissey Boulevard during frequent, nuisance rain events,” read the project report prepared for DCR by HDR Engineering.

At present, during high tide and storm surge events, water from the Neponset River backs up into a 48-inch discharge pipe, causing the tide gate to close. On the one hand, that helps in keeping tidal flooding out; on the other, when high tide coincides with heavy rain, the combination creates a lake-effect situation: high water building up with nowhere to go.

An example of the flooding events that can occur in the vicinity of the proposed pump station: dangerous flooding on Morrissey Boulevard southbound by the Murphy School.

“Stormwater then backs up into the drainage system and creates localized nuisance flooding within Morrissey Boulevard that make driving conditions hazardous,” the report noted. “The flooding occurs at an existing catch basin on Morrissey Boulevard across from McKone Street and adjacent to the Market Place on Morrissey shopping plaza. When the tide recedes, the tide gate opens and allows for flood waters to discharge through the outlet pipe and flooding within Morrissey Boulevard subsides.”

The new plan is to install a “duplex submersible pump station” at the rear of the parking lot that includes a short discharge pipe that bypasses the tide gate – allowing the localized flooding to be pumped out. The station would be underground.

Currently, the DCR staff responds to flooding with portable trailer pumps.

Port Norfolk resident Maria Lyons, a member of the Neponset River Greenway Council, said the pump station is a good step, but asserted that it won’t stop all the damage predicted in models done by the Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC) that show intense flooding in the Morrissey Boulevard area. She noted some questions still need to be answered, such as whether discharged water from the new pump will be filtered.

“I would not want to pollute the river, especially at Tenean Beach,” she said.

She also suggested long-term solutions to mitigate Morrissey flooding – like water retention areas to hold floodwaters before discharging them, and to begin requiring permeable materials other than asphalt on projects and renovations along the Boulevard corridor.

The first phase of the project, being constructed as part of the Greenway extension, includes a pump discharge pipe and connection to the existing downstream manhole along with the transformer pad, electrical conduit, and cables. It is also part of larger efforts in the area, aligning with the Morrissey Boulevard and Kosciuszko Circle Redesign, Neponset River Greenway Extension, JFK/UMass Station Access Plan, and Climate Ready Boston’s Coastal Resilience Solutions for Dorchester.