Mamaroneck Flood Mitigation Project Green-Lit

MAMARONECK, NY — After being stalled for years and shelved by the Trump administration, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it will provide $88 million in funding for the final design and construction of the Mamaroneck and Sheldrake River Flood Risk Management Project, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced.

"After years of pressuring and pushing federal agencies, this wonderful news from the Army Corps and the [Office of Budget Management] finally breaks the federal logjam on this vital project and frees up the vital 100 percent funding we secured to finally move to design and construction for the Mamaroneck and Sheldrake River flood prevention plan," Schumer said in a statement released on Wednesday. "I visited Mamaroneck the day after Hurricane Ida, another deadly storm in a pattern of far too many that devastated the community, and promised I would not stop fighting until Mamaroneck received the funding it desperately needed to protect its community."

The $88 million in construction funding will be provided through the Disaster Supplemental Appropriations Bill, which included $1.5 billion in Army Corps construction funding for Ida-affected communities. The massive construction projects will be 100 percent federally funded rather than the traditional 65/35 federal and non-federal cost share model.

“When Hurricane Ida hit Mamaroneck, Senator Schumer was quick to call and say enough is enough on getting the funding needed for the construction of the Mamaroneck and Sheldrake River Flood Risk Management Project," Mamaroneck Mayor Tom Murphy said. "We’d been fighting for years to get this done and we both agreed that everyone needed to come together to cut through the red tape once and for all.

The project, which is now set to begin its design phase, will reduce flood risk for the Mamaroneck and Sheldrake River Basins and help protect residents and business owners by constructing retaining walls and a diversion culvert. The project will also enable the deepening and widening of river channels and structure elevation. The plan has been estimated to potentially reduce average annual damages by approximately 87 percent and more importantly, reduce the risk of loss of life.

The current Mamaroneck and Sheldrake River Flood Risk Management Project was first imagined in response to a 2007 Nor’easter storm, which produced record flooding in the Village of Mamaroneck. The 2007 flooding caused over $50 million in damages and impacted over 50 percent of total structures within the study area. The storm resulted in floodwaters peaking on the Mamaroneck River in approximately four hours, and in approximately six hours on the Sheldrake River. The evacuation time for approximately 19,000 residents in the Village of Mamaroneck was severely limited. Over 40 percent of Mamaroneck residents required evacuation assistance prior to floodwaters peaking, including children that attended a school located within the epicenter of the severe flooding.

In March of 2010, a design agreement was signed by the Army Corps, NYS Department of Conservation (NYSDEC) and Westchester County. During this time, severe flooding again occurred during Hurricanes Irene and Lee in 2011. The flooding extended several blocks on both sides of Mamaroneck Avenue. The repeated disasters, including shoreline flooding from Super Storm Sandy in 2012, caused extensive damage and severely impacted the local economy.

Following a $4.7 million study by the Army Corps, the project was recommended by the Chief of Engineers and the project was authorized for construction in the 2018 America’s Water Infrastructure Act.

In 2020, the Trump administration announced construction of the project would not move forward.

Now, after deadly flooding in the wake of Post-Tropical Cyclone Ida, the project is finally getting underway. Westchester County Executive George Latimer gives much of the credit for this about-face to New York's congressional delegation.

"No one has been a stronger advocate for the Mamaroneck residents impacted by flooding than Senator Schumer," Latimer said. "He, and our entire federal delegation, put the federal spotlight on a problem the people of Mamaroneck have had to endure for far too long. $88 million dollars is an unbelievable amount of money ... This money will not only save property — it will save lives.”