A new effort to control flooding

County commissions study on problem that plagues the Five Towns

Posted

In parts of the Five Towns, heavy rain almost always means flooding, and in an effort to find solutions to the problem, Nassau County’s Department of Public Works has begun the process of commissioning a study, county officials said.
Low-lying sections of Lawrence, Cedarhurst, Hewlett, Inwood, North Woodmere and Woodmere are especially prone to flooding after major storms such as last year’s Hurricane Sandy.
In addition to historical data, the study will examine the area’s infrastructure as well as its topography — its natural and manmade physical features. Weather station data will be compiled from the county’s three stations, one at Kennedy International Airport and other National Weather Service facilities, county officials said. Tidal protection valves, street elevation, pumps and additional piping will likely be among the ideas under consideration.
A county Request For Proposals from firms that could conduct the study will be issued in the coming weeks, county officials said. The DPW did not reveal how much it plans to spend on the initiative.
“The water problem around this area is horrendous,” said North Woodmere resident Robin Cristo. Though her home is elevated and has not flooded, Tropical Strom Irene, in 2011, and Sandy damaged her restaurant, Mezzanote, at the Lawrence Yacht & Country Club. This year Cristo reopened Mezzanote on Chestnut Street in Cedarhurst. “It’s about time someone is doing something about [the flooding],” she said. “It affects a lot of people.”

According to Cedarhurst Mayor Andrew Parise, a federal study, conducted in 1971, recommended that streets be raised and curbed to reduce the effects of the area’s high water table. That work was done, but Parise said that flooding has gotten progressively worse due to an increase in development.
“With more building, there is less drainage,” he said, adding that the duct valves near Mott’s Creek, a tributary of Jamaica Bay near Peninsula Boulevard that helps to control the flow of water, need to be regularly cleared of debris to work properly, and the county has to keep up on the flood-control measures it is responsible for. “Hopefully the study can educate us to a certain extent, and I am willing to cooperate,” Parise said. “We have to do something to mitigate it.”
There has been recurring flooding in Lawrence, especially in the area known as Back Lawrence, for several years. Streets such as Marbridge Road, Margaret Avenue and Meadow Lane flood frequently, and water has damaged homes and vehicles. In addition to the area’s low elevation, Lawrence Mayor Martin Oliner also attributes the problem to overdevelopment.
“The over-building all over the Five Towns hasn’t helped,” Oliner said. “It has taken away the grass and pervious material and destroyed places for the water to go.”
Oliner said he wanted to use $3 million of the $27.6 million the Five Towns was allotted through the New York Rising Community Reconstruction Program to fix the problem, possibly to purchase pumps to drain the water. “It’s great they’re doing the study,” he said. “A year after Sandy, we need decisive action.”
Flooding is also a problem in Woodsburgh, one of the Five Towns’ smaller villages. Mayor Lee Israel said that the study is a “proactive approach” to the problem. Railroad Avenue, which runs through the Woodmere Club and connects Woodsburgh to Lawrence, is the village’s focus.
“This thoroughfare for both pedestrian and vehicular traffic is prone to flooding as storm water drainage outflows are submerged during high tide,” Israel explained, adding that the tidal gate mechanisms that control the flow of water are rusting and in need of replacement. “Easements granted by the Woodmere Club to Nassau County to utilize and maintain these outflows are being addressed by the county executive.”
County Executive Ed Mangano has said that he has spoken to federal and state officials about applying Sandy relief money to the study. “I expect this study will be expedited so we can formulate a plan of action,” Mangano said, “and fix this problem for the people of the Five Towns.”

Have an opinion about flooding in the Five Towns? Send your letter to the editor to jbessen@liherald.com.