Environment & Energy Committee Explores Creation of a
Countywide Drainage and Flood Management Agency
Proposal Responds to Increasing Floods Impacting Westchester Residents and Businesses
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 30, 2007
Contact: Chris Crane, Committee Counsel, ChrisC@westchesterlegislators.com, (914) 995-2104
Last April’s Nor’easter and Hurricane Floyd in 1999 are just two reminders in Westchester of the consequences of nature’s fury.
To prevent a repeat of the devastation brought by these natural disasters, the Environment & Energy Committee is taking a proactive role. At a meeting this week, County Legislator Tom Abinanti (D-I-WF, Greenburgh), Chair of the Committee, presented proposed legislation, first introduced by Abinanti this past June, to establish a countywide Drainage and Flood Management Agency.
“Stormwater flooding has been a regional problem with regional consequences that needs regional solutions,” Committee Chair Thomas Abinanti said in opening the discussion. “The question really is how large the district should be.”
The legislation states that "Flooding constitutes a menace to the health, safety and welfare of the people of Westchester County," and that "Flooding occurs without regard for municipal boundaries." "The county cannot afford to wait any longer to seek to prevent flooding," and that “Homes and businesses are being washed away. Our environment is being damaged, trees and greenery uprooted, wildlife is being displaced and waterways clogged and polluted. Predictions are for more and more severe storms."
The legislation calls for creating a map of the current drainage, stormwater and flood prevention systems in Westchester, identifying the problem areas and creating a coordinated plan to alleviate those problems. After this initial stage, the agency would recommend the creation of a countywide Drainage and Flood Management District that would finance, construct and maintain a coordinated drainage and flood management system.
Abinanti noted that earlier this year, County Executive Andrew Spano hosted a “Flood Summit” that included officials from Westchester’s municipalities and thereafter appointed a Flood Action Plan Task Force to develop a flood mitigation plan. His proposal to extend $50 million in flood mitigation funding is currently under review by the County Board.
“We are moving on a parallel track,” Abinanti said, adding that the Environment Committee wants to eventually work with the county executive’s office on the issue.
Representatives from the Long Island Sound Watershed Intermunicipal Council (LISWIC) also addressed the committee on their approach to alleviate flooding in the Sound Shore region. LISWIC* was founded in 1999 as an association of twelve municipalities* in the lower Long Island Sound Drainage Basin. The group's goal is to find ways to collectively make decisions to provide for a cleaner Long Island Sound. The participating LISWIC municipalities recently completed a study on the feasibility of creating a Regional Stormwater Management District which would concern itself with correcting flooding problems in the region as well as improving stormwater quality.
*LISWIC includes the cities of Mount Vernon, New Rochelle and Rye; the town of Mamaroneck; the town/village of Harrison and Scarsdale; and, the villages of Larchmont, Mamaroneck, Pelham, Pelham Manor, Port Chester and Rye Brook.
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