Funding Flows to Herkimer County for Flood Mitigation Projects

ONEONTA, 08/17/16 – State Senator James L. Seward (R/C/I-Oneonta) today announced that the Public Authorities Control Board (PACB) has granted final approval for $686,506 in state funding for crucial flood mitigation projects in Herkimer County.  

“In the aftermath of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee, I worked closely with local officials to answer immediate needs and prepare for future disasters,” said Senator Seward.  “This funding will help ensure that flood prone areas in the Town of German Flatts are better protected in the event of future storms.”

The funding was originally included in the 2011-12 state budget at Senator Seward’s request and has been reappropriated in subsequent years.  The grants will cover the cost of planning, engineering design, and surveying for five projects that are expected to be complete in the summer of 2018.

“Irene and Lee may be nothing but distant memories for some, but for those who live near creeks and streams, every new storm conjures up worries and fears of those dark days.  These much-needed flood mitigation projects will help reassure home and business owners that they are safe and the state grants mean the work will be done without burdening local governments and taxpayers,” Seward concluded.

Following the devastating storms in 2011, Senator Seward worked closely with local elected officials to ensure that maximum state dollars were funneled to communities in need.  His advocacy led to state assistance to cover the local share of public disaster response and recovery costs.  Senator Seward also assisted with efforts to secure Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding to aid in the rebuilding process.

The five flood mitigation projects in the Town of German Flatts are:

• Fulmer Creek High Bank Failure: This project involves engineering and design plans and specifications such that Fulmer Creek can be relocated away from a large failing bank that is threatening properties on top of the hillslope as well as the stream itself. Implementation of the design will protect the stream from becoming filled with eroded bank material, create a more stable stream, and remove a residential structure out of the floodplain;

• Steele Creek Implementation and Phasing Plan: This project involves providing the town and village with a clear understanding of the feasibility and cost of flood mitigation measures. It will further provide an understanding of how single projects and combinations of projects will provide flood relief in highly developed flood prone areas surrounding Steele Creek;

• Moyer Creek West Main Street Bridge: This project involves engineering design plans and specifications to replace a hydraulically undersized bridge and improve flooding in the West Main Street along Moyer Creek;

• Steele Creek Channel and Floodplain Restoration: This project involves design plans to widen the channel and create floodplain benches to increase flood flow conveyance and capacity and reduce flooding within the Village of Ilion along Steele Creek;

• Columbia Parkway Channel Restoration: This project involves providing engineering design plans to provide flood mitigation along an unnamed tributary that causes flooding in the Columbia Parkway area.

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