44°
RYE BROOK, N.Y. -- Dave Sciandra has lived in his house on Wyman Street for more than 50 years and has dealt with several floods in that time so word of a sluice gate project at Bowman Avenue Dam is welcome news to him. "Anything will help," said Sciandra, who most recently dealt with floods during Tropical Storm Irene and heavy rains the following week. "It can't hurt, that's for sure."
The Village of Rye Brook recently approved an inter-municipal agreement with the City of Rye to construct a sluice gate at the Bowman Avenue Dam, which is owned by the City of Rye, to help reduce flooding by releasing water before a storm. The $2.2 million project was proposed after a 2007 flood mitigation study around the upper and lower ponds that feed in to Blind Brook, which passes through parts of Rye Brook and Rye. Half of the funding is being provided through a county grant, another $400,000 through a state grant and the remainder provided by Rye Brook and Rye in the amounts of $137,000 and $547,000, respectively.
The City of Rye will review a site plan application through its engineering department, which will be the last step before a bidding process can begin for the project. Rye City Manager Scott Pickup said the application should be filed by the end of the month. No timeline has been set for the project's completion as the bidding process still remains, but Pickup estimated the construction itself could take four to six months. "I know these projects take time to get done," said Christine Sciandra, Dave Sciandra's daughter. "We can't wait." What do you think about the sluice gate project?
Click here to follow Daily Voice Port Chester and receive free news updates.
