While parts of Rockland County saw flooding from Tuesday's storm, one area has seen the problem improve.
A town project in West Nyack is easing flooding concerns in some neighborhoods.
Thanks to
the Klein Avenue Levee improvement project, flooding in the area is not expected
to be a problem anymore.
The more
than $6 million project to raise the existing levee by three feet is being
funded by the feds, the county and the town. They have also installed two
18" pumps to flush out water if the levels get too high.
The work
started in April and this phase is done, which should protect the nearly 200
homes on or near Klein Avenue.
A town
engineer tells News 12 this area, which has been flooded in the past during
severe storms, should never deal with it again.
There was
no flooding from this week's storm nor Hurricane Ida.
The
Clarkstown town supervisor described how the project proved to be a major
difference maker this summer The water would have crested above the old levee
by 2 feet which means that every one of these houses here would have had 4 to 8
feet of water in their basements. And it would have cascaded down Klein Avenue
and wiped out the West Nyack business district," says Supervisor George
Hoehmann.
Hoehmann
adds that flood insurance for homeowners is expected to drop significantly
because the flood designation will likely be changing.
He says
some homeowners pay $20,000 a year for their insurance and that could
drop to less than $2,000.
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