Swollen Rivers, 'No Widespread Flooding' In Mamaroneck After Deluge

MAMARONECK, NY — Mamaroneck was fortunate to have avoided serious flooding after the slow-moving storm brought heavy rains to the region overnight, but Mayor Tom Murphy said the village isn't planning to rely on good luck.

"The rain over the last couple of days created high river levels," Murphy said in a message released Friday morning. "Thankfully, the soaking didn’t cause widespread flooding but produced very serious, and understandable, anxiety among our residents."

Murphy told residents the village is already taking steps to mitigate the danger of the kind of devastating flooding that occurred in the wake of Ida in early September.

After being stalled for years and shelved by the Trump administration, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said in January it will provide $88 million in funding for the final design and construction of the Mamaroneck and Sheldrake Rivers Flood Risk Management Project. While Murphy praised the project, he said there are steps the village can take on its own that will have an immediate impact.

SEE ALSO:

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• 'Seek Higher Ground' Flooding Worsens, Village Begins Evacuations
• 'Significant Damage' As Mamaroneck Flooded By Ida
• Mamaroneck Flood Mitigation Project Green-Lit

Mamaroneck is hiring a private contractor, with the necessary equipment, to go into the rivers and clean out choke points and remove build-ups of silt. Murphy said this work should start in the beginning of May.

The Village has already committed $150,000 for an engineering study to assess what can be done to alleviate flooding on top of the Army Corps of Engineers. The mayor said that this will allow Mamaroneck to move on "parallel, but complimentary, tracks to improve the lives of our residents."

The Army Corps of Engineers will come to the Emelin Theater in Mamaroneck on Wednesday, May, 18, at 7 p.m. to explain the plan to control flooding in the Mamaroneck and Sheldrake Rivers. There will then be an opportunity for the public to ask questions and have input. The event will also be televised on LMC Media.

The federal plan was funded by the Ida Relief bill and not regular Army Corps of Engineers budget procedures so Mamaroneck will not be responsible for paying for a portion of the project, as is typically required.

"This will save Mamaroneck in the neighborhood of $9 million," Murphy said. "I want to thank the folks at ACE, at Senator Schumer’s office, Westchester County and New York State for being our partners and our allies in this struggle. Working together we will help our residents enjoy their homes without the feeling of dread that storms inevitably bring to them. Help and hope are on the horizon."