After visiting Mamaroneck to survey the damage caused by Hurricane Ida and making a direct personal appeal to Office of Management and Budget, OMB,
Acting Director Shalanda Young last month to urge the agency to greenlight the Mamaroneck and Sheldrake River Flood Risk Management Project, U.S.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced on Oct. 6, that he has secured $1.5 billion in disaster supplemental aid to fast track Ida-impacted Army Corps of Engineers, ACE, construction projects.
Schumer explained this means the project could receive funding ASAP, bypassing several of the bureaucratic hiccups that have stalled construction for years.
The project has been stalled for the past two years by the Trump administration based on faulty cost-benefit analysis, according to Schumer, despite strong support from the ACE, which would provide the boots on the ground necessary for construction.
“Following the horrible flooding in Mamaroneck last month, which caused millions of dollars in damage, terrorized the community, and claimed the life of
one person, I’m proud to deliverfunding for Ida-affected communities, and am also pleased about getting the feds to finally greenlight the Mamaroneck and Sheldrake River Flood Risk Management Project,” said Schumer. “ The federal government is one step closer to moving forward with the flood-protection
Project for Mamaroneck andnearby communities and finally protecting a community that has suffered for decades because of severe flooding.”
“Since Hurricane Ida devastated our village we have made great strides in getting the Army Corps of Engineers plan to control flooding on the Mamaroneck
and Sheldrake rivers back on track. A few weeks ago the Office of Management and Budget told Senator Schumer that it will be supportive of our plan and the news … that the senator has secured $1.5 billion to jumpstart Army Corps construction projects in Ida-impacted communities, like ours, means that we are one step closer to shovels in the ground on this long overdue project,” said village of Mamaroneck Mayor Tom Murphy.
Schumer visited Mamaroneck the day after Hurricane Ida hit the region, where disadvantaged residents living in the USACE project zone reported 14-feet of
water flooding the area forcing them to evacuate their homes and seek shelter in the dead of night. There were more than 150 water rescues, 535 flooded homes, 1,000 people displaced, and 310abandoned cars.
The village has reported more than $18 million in damages and more than $75 million in residential and commercial damage.Five Westchester residents
also tragically lost their lives in the flooding, including one in Mamaroneck bringing the total number of people who have died in Mamaroneck as a result of the
persistent flooding to three in the past 25 years.
The flood mitigation project in Mamaroneck was first imagined in response to a 2007 Nor’easter storm, which produced record flooding in the village of Mamaroneck, equivalent to a 1% flood event. Schumer traveled to the area the day after the storm to personally survey the extent of the significant damage.
The 2007 event caused more than $50 million in damages andimpacted more than 50% of total structures within the study area.The storm resulted in floodwaterspeaking on the Mamaroneck River in approximately fourhours, and in approximately sixhours on the Sheldrake River.
As such, the evacuation time for approximately 19,000 residents in the village of Mamaroneck was severely restrictedand created a high-risk situation.
More than 40% of Mamaroneck residents required evacuation assistance prior to floodwaters peaking, including a large population of children that attended a school located within the epicenter of the severe flooding.
Following this, in March of 2010, a Design Agreement was signed by the Army Corps., NYS Department of Conservation, DEC, and Westchester County for a Preconstruction Engineering and Design study. During this time, severe flooding again occurred during hurricanes Irene and Lee in 2011. The flooding extended several blocks on both sides of Mamaroneck Avenue. The repeated disasters, including shoreline flooding from Superstorm Sandy in 2012, caused extensive damage and severely impacted the local economy. Following a $4.7 million study by the Army Corps, the project was recommended for construction in the 2018 America’s Water Infrastructure Act. However, in Februaryof 2020 it was discovered that the project would not move forward with the construction
of the project because of the benefit-cost ratio used by OMB, sparking community concern and outrage.
Upon completion, the project would reduce flood risk for the Mamaroneck and Sheldrake River Basins and protect residents and business owners by
constructing retaining walls and a diversion culvert. The project would also enable the deepening and widening of river channels, elevate structures, and remove/replace two vehicular bridges that constrict flood flow. The plan is estimated to potentially reduce average annual damages by approximately
87% and help reduce the risk of loss of life. (Submitted)
