GULF SHORES, Ala. -- One East Gulf Shores neighborhood has been battling water woes for a long time, but there may be an end in sight.

“We’re going to solve the problem,” Mayor Robert Craft said confidently following Monday’s City Council work session.

The city is poised to begin a two-pronged plan designed to solve the flooding issues in the neighborhood around Meyer Park.

“The long-term fix is we’ve got to improve the drainage dramatically,” Craft said. “The short-term fix is to put in the mechanisms that can stop the water in the State Park from coming in which is in a part of the state park that is not being used and will hold water.

“But at least that is a way to keep it out of the area.”

The neighborhood is bordered by Canal Road on the north, East Second Street on the west, 10th Street and Gulf State Park on the east and East 21st Street and Gulf State Park on the south.

“We are continually doing drainage improvements over there,” Director of Public Works Mark Acreman said. “The drainage improvements we are doing now are being driven by the mayor and council and public works continuing what we’ve been doing and constantly trying to improve the drainage system over there.”

Residents in the neighborhood are currently involved in a lawsuit against the city over the drainage issues and city officials weren’t ready to comment on the details of that suit. 

“We’re headed toward the direction of resolution,” Craft said. “I can tell you that.”

First off up in the battle, Acreman proposed a $65,000 study in the neighborhood to immediately determine the best way to address flooding in the Fifth Street area.

He recommended Preble-Rish Engineering to do the study during the work session. The council will vote on that proposal Monday.

“We’re trying to see how we can more uniformly distribute that water,” Acreman said. “We have East Second Street, Fifth Street, we have Seventh Street and we have 10th Street. Those are all outfalls under the highway.

“We have a lot of drainage and it’s primarily focused on Fifth. So we’re looking at trying to find some creative ways to distribute that drainage equally through those four outfalls. And maybe look at some additional improvements that can increase their capacity.”

Craft said there are no drainage projects with higher priority than this neighborhood.

“There is nothing we have that is of higher importance than this,” he said. “We are going to have to do this, to be looking at it and be prepared to move as quickly as we can once we get this approved.”

Mainly, Craft said, there can be no more flooding in the area and he is committed to doing whatever it takes to avoid more, including the possibility of emergency berms.

“We may have to take some very temporary, structural group of protection in that area even though it doesn’t add to the overall plan,” he said. “What we’re talking about now is making sure that we do everything we can and not let any other flooding happen.”