Stream project to alleviate flooding

A project to improve storm water flow is set to take place in Valley Stream this summer will mean upgrades to the stream at the north end of Hendrickson Park, as well as at the Village Green and Mill Pond.

Brian Croce/Herald

Valley Stream got its name for a reason. Those waterways that identify the community will soon be getting some attention, as the village prepares to embark on a $2 million storm-water-quality improvement project.

A federal grant, administered through Nassau County, will fund the project, which is expected to relieve flooding concerns in three village parks and the surrounding neighborhoods. The stream through Hendrickson Park will be the focus of some of the work, especially at the north end, near Hendrickson Avenue.

Thomas McAleer, the village’s building superintendent, said that a “forebay” will be installed there to collect sediment and debris, such as plastic bottles, that flows into the park from the north. When that debris reaches the pedestrian bridge, it gets caught and blocks water from flowing unimpeded through the stream and into the lake, he explained.

If the stream overflows, particularly after a heavy rainstorm, McAleer said, the flooding threatens the apartments just east of the park. “There isn’t a lot of room between the creek and the residents,” he said. “The streets aren’t that far.”

Additional work at the park will include removing sand and silt that has built up along the bottom of the stream, the construction of a new retaining wall and the planting of vegetation along the stream banks.

In 2008, some work was done in Hendrickson Park, funded by a $360,000 state grant. Former Village Clerk Vinny Ang said that the upcoming stream work will pick up where the last project left off.

The initial project also included the removal of sand and silt. Ang said that while it has built back up over the past four years, if it had not been removed four years ago, the stream would have even less capacity than it does now. “The first project, there were benefits of it that still remain,” he said. “It was important it got done when it got done.”

Ang added that much of the sand comes from the Southern State Parkway when it is spread on the highway during hazardous weather conditions. It washes into Valley Stream State Park, through the stream and into Hendrickson Park.

In 2008, the stream banks, which had severely eroded over the years, were restored and a retaining wall was built. Ang said that the village actually received the $2 million grant during the first project, but it had to wait for the culvert-replacement project to be finished on Valley Stream Boulevard, which is part of the same stream system. That work was completed in October.

Below the Hendrickson Park lake, the stream passes under the village pool, Merrick Road and the Monica Village senior housing complex before resurfacing just north of Valley Stream Boulevard. It then flows through the culvert and into the Village Green.

There, McAleer said work will include repairs to the stream banks along most of its length. The stream will also be deepened, and some vegetation that restricts water flow will be removed.

The stream then flows under the railroad tracks and Sunrise Highway into Mill Pond at Edward W. Cahill Memorial Park. There is so much sand, silt and dirt built up there, McAleer said, that the pond now holds very little water. About 100,000 cubic feet of dirt will be removed, which he said will make the pond significantly deeper.

There are plans to reinstall a fountain in Mill Pond, for aesthetic reasons as well as to keep the water from stagnating. McAleer said that once all the dirt is removed, the village can put the fountain back in. A forebay will also be built there to catch debris.

There is no guarantee that flooding will be eliminated entirely, McAleer said, noting that a lot of rain in a short period of time could still cause the streams to spill over. By increasing their capacity, however, the chance of that happening is greatly reduced. Just two weeks ago, during a heavy rainstorm, water came within an inch of the former Hendrickson Park administration building, which was damaged by three feet of water during a major rainstorm last August and is still being renovated.

McAleer said he expects the work to begin in a few weeks and continue until early fall. “It’s a good project for the summer,” he said. “We do get some dry periods that allow us to get into the waterway and do this.”