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 White Plains, NY - County Executive Andy Spano and Congresswoman Nita Lowey have announced the first of a series of major initiatives to assist local governments to finance projects to prevent the kind of devastating floods that hit the county in the spring of 2007.
Assembled at the intersection of the Mamaroneck and Sheldrake Rivers – where some of the worst flooding occurred that April – Spano and Lowey described $11.15 million in projects to ease flooding in Mamaroneck town and village, Scarsdale, Tarrytown and Rye City/Rye Brook.
“Since the storms of April 2007, climate change and the increased frequency and intensity of storms have focused even greater attention on flooding and its widespread impacts on our residents and businesses,” said Spano, who in the aftermath of that flood committed $50 million in county funds to help with local flood remediation projects. “The projects moving forward today are just the start of our efforts to find solutions – efforts that require the kind of partnership we have with Congresswoman Lowey and with our local governments.”
Said Lowey, “Mitigating flooding in the Mamaroneck-Sheldrake watershed is imperative for the security of homes and businesses in the area. That is why I secured more than $8 million for the Army Corps of Engineers to evaluate regional flooding and develop a comprehensive plan to protect the region, as well as hundreds of thousands for municipalities to upgrade sewer and drainage systems. I am pleased these projects are moving forward, and I will continue working with County Executive Spano and our municipalities to eliminate this danger to our community.”
Since June 2007, Spano’s flood task force has been working with local governments to develop projects that might be eligible for county funds. To date, 12 local governments have submitted preliminary applications to the county for financial help. These funds are included in the county’s Capital Projects budget.
“As a member of the County Executive's Flood Action Task Force, I have spent the past two years working with county and local officials to get to the point where the county can begin to put some money towards flood mitigation,” said County Legislator Judith Myers. “The steps to get to this point have been numerous and complicated, but the results should put the municipalities in a better place with regard to stormwater runoff, municipal ordinances that should help to cut down on impervious surface and soil erosion, and a wide-scale education on stormwater retention and living near flood plains and drainage basins.”
The Mamaroneck village project will be undertaken by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, with the help of a portion of the federal funds obtained by Lowey. In addition, the county and the state Department of Environmental Conservation will each contribute $768,000 toward the $6.65 million project. A request for approval for this expenditure was submitted today by Spano to the Board of Legislators.
A second piece of legislation will be submitted shortly thereafter requesting another $4.5 million to team up with municipalities (Mamaroneck Town, Scarsdale, Tarrytown and Rye City/Rye Brook) that submitted final applications for county funds for major flood mitigation projects. Municipal projects will be funded at 50 percent of the costs for project design and construction with the balance to be provided by municipal and other non-County funds. Additional final applications are under review by the county’s Flood Task Force.
To qualify, projects must address county purposes, such as lessening the risk of damage to county infrastructure and properties.
The county is also moving ahead to address area-wide flooding with projects on county-owned land. Funding for these projects is separate from the $50 million set aside to assist the municipalities and other government entities to reduce the impacts of flooding.
Here are descriptions of those projects that are moving forward:
Mamaroneck-Sheldrake Rivers Flood Damage Reduction Study
The Mamaroneck and Sheldrake rivers have periodically flooded portions of Mamaroneck Village, with one of the most recent and severe flooding events occurring in April 2007. This flood impacted much of the county, with downtown Mamaroneck Village being one of the hardest hit. Under the legislation being submitted to the Board of Legislators, the county will work with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to participate in a 30-month flood study to be conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The study will re-evaluate alternative solutions to reduce the impact of flooding in Mamaroneck Village and the surrounding areas. The total cost of this study will be $6.65 million. The Army Corps will provide $5.1 million and the state and county will each contribute $768,000.
Town of Mamaroneck
Gardens Lake in the Town of Mamaroneck is formed by a dam across the Sheldrake River upstream from the Village of Mamaroneck. The proposed project would enable the lake to act as a flood water storage facility as well as improve its water quality improvement capabilities. The project would include the removal and re-distribution of approximately 6,000 cubic yards to 9,000 cubic yards of sediment from the lake, creation of lake-edge wetlands and meadows to improve water quality and fish and wildlife habitat, and reconstruction of the dam at the lake’s southern end, which would allow the town to easily draw down the lake level before a storm to detain flood waters and decrease the velocity of the Sheldrake River. The total cost of the project is estimated to be $1.51 million.
Village of Tarrytown
A small tributary of the Hudson River in the vicinity of Loh Park, in the neighborhoods of Loh Avenue, Leroy Avenue and Benedict Avenue, would be addressed by this proposed project. The project would include the installation of stormwater pipes and catch basins, replacement of culverts, enclosure of a section of the tributary within a pipe, construction of a stormwater management pond, and other drainage improvements. The project also would include stabilization practices to curb erosion and sedimentation. The total cost of the project is estimated to be $1.67 million.
Village of Scarsdale
Fox Meadow Brook, a tributary of the Bronx River, has flooded adjoining neighborhoods during storm events. The proposed project would involve the installation of stormwater management practices at four locations: 1) George Field Park, White Plains Road (Route 22) at Oxford Road, 2) Cooper Green, White Plains Road (Route 22) at Mamaroneck Road, 3) Brewster Road between Olmstead Road and Hartcourt Road, 4) Butler Field, south side of Harcourt Road. These practices would be: 1) construction of a dry bio-detention/meadow with associated spillway controls, 2) construction of a bio-detention dry basin, 3) diversion and detention of runoff through the construction of new sidewalks, curbs and catch basins, 4) construction of a bio-detention dry basin. The total cost of the project is estimated to be $2.9 million.
City of Rye/Village of Rye Brook (joint application)
Blind Brook has had chronic flooding problems and this project would allow an existing dam across the brook at Bowman Avenue to be used as a flood mitigation structure. The proposed project would involve the replacement of an existing fixed, timber outlet control gate on the dam with an automated, adjustable, cast iron outlet control gate. The gate could be controlled based on water surface elevation measured at a gauge mounted on the dam, thereby enabling the pond behind the dam to detain flood waters during storms. The total cost of the project is estimated to be $2.2 million..
Westchester County Government Projects
The county government is using other capital funds to investigate up to six county-owned sites where there is an opportunity to reduce the area- wide impact of flooding. This effort is being funded through a capital project for $2 million that is separate from the $50 million set aside for partnerships with our municipalities or other government entities. These funds are also being used to develop a flood impact analysis application that will help the county and its municipalities identify other locations for flood mitigation and to assess the impact of proposed development projects before they are approved.
Working with the Flood Task Force and other local officials, the county will also be submitting legislation to the Board of Legislators to amend the County’s Stream Control Law to enable the County to better evaluate the potential impacts of flooding that may result from development projects being considered at the municipal level.
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