Mar. 5, 2014:  County Executive Robert P. Astorino has submitted legislation to the Westchester County Board of Legislators to advance two flood mitigation projects, together totaling $1.85 million--one at Saxon Woods Park and the other along the Bronx River Parkway south of Harney Road. The projects employ best practices in stormwater management to enhance each site's capacity for storing and absorbing floodwaters, as well as to improve water quality and enhance the sites' visual appearance.  

For the flood mitigation project south of the Harney Road Bridge in the Bronx River Parkway Reservation, 750 feet along both sides of the Bronx River will be stabilized at a cost of $1.25 million. Severe erosion and sedimentation are aggravating flooding conditions and threatening the park pathway. River sediment will be relocated, thereby widening the river channel, and the riverbank will be regraded. Stone structures within the channel will redirect water flow to lessen the threat of bank erosion and sedimentation.

"These projects are part of a larger and ongoing effort to address the impacts of flooding in the county," Astorino said. "Last year we completed the rehabilitation of the Oak Street Pump Station in Yonkers that was damaged by Superstorm Sandy. The County Center is now buffered from the impacts of flooding thanks to stormwater management projects along the banks of the Bronx River. There are many complex factors that cause flooding and we will continue to maximize our resources to address them."

In 2011 and 2012, the restoration and stabilization of 1,000 feet of the west bank and 1,200 feet of the east bank of the Bronx River between the Bronx River Parkway and the County Center parking lot was completed. 

Another Bronx River flood mitigation project completed in 2013 was at Scout Field in Mount Vernon, where stormwater management and in-channel stone diversion structures were constructed and river buffer was restored. Under construction next to Fisher Lane and the Bronx River Parkway in Greenburgh is the restoration of a stormwater and flood management wetland next to the Bronx River. This project will be completed by summer at a cost of $850,000.

"We will continue to move as quickly as possible to address projects on county property, as we have been," Astorino said. "Where state, federal, and other approvals are required, it adds time and complexity to the project; however, we continue to make progress."   

The county also is studying and addressing the impacts of flooding via the Westchester County Stormwater Advisory Board (SAB). Staffs of the departments of planning and public works and transportation are working on stormwater reconnaissance plans for Westchester's five major watershed areas. Three plans have been approved by the SAB. Once the plans are approved by the Westchester County Board of Legislators, the flood mitigation projects in the plans, which were identified by municipal officials, will be eligible for a 50% project cost match from the county. 

Additional information about county flood mitigation projects can be found on the Westchester County website:  www.westchestergov.com.

Pictured here:  View of Bronx River and parkway southbound from Harney Road Bridge.

Photo by A. Warner