The Village of Freeport has received additional support for its flood mitigation strategies, in the form of several state grants. Over $3.5 million has been provided to replace six of the village’s catch basins, alleviating a potential burden for local taxpayers.
Flooding and flood prevention have been a potent topic of discussion in the village in recent weeks, because it is one of the most at-risk communities on the South Shore during high tides and severe storms. Village officials, including Mayor Robert T. Kennedy, have developed several partnerships with county, state and federal elected leaders to help address the flood concerns and protect Freeport residents and businesses.
At a news conference on the corner of Guy Lombardo Boulevard and Cedar Street on Oct. 13, Kennedy pointed out how prevalent flood concerns are in Freeport. Only about two hours earlier, he said, high tides had caused some minor flooding in the same spot, and evidence of the high water was still visible.
“This is why we’re trying to address nuisance flooding in the Village of Freeport,” Kennedy said. “These areas are continuously flooded with a full-moon high tide, and these [new] pumping stations will eliminate that.”
The grants are a product of New York State Development Corporation Capital Project approval that will help plan, redesign and construct new pumping stations and catch basins in the village. Catch basins collect water underground during high tides and flush it back out back into the ocean, to help prevent water from inundating coastal property.
The new pumping stations will be located on the corners of Guy Lombardo and Cedar, Ray and Bedell streets, in between West Third and West Fourth streets, Florence and Jeanette avenues, Westside Avenue and Lewis Street, and Clinton and Prospect streets — all in Freeport’s southern half, close to the canals leading to Baldwin Bay.
Kennedy thanked State Sen. Siela Bynoe and Assembly members Noah Burroughs and Judy Griffin for helping to secure the grants.
“The installation of these pumping stations will prevent nuisance flooding and protect the homeowners’ vehicles, as well as our fire trucks [and] police vehicles from saltwater intrusion,” Kennedy said. “We have literally spent $5 million in the last several years replacing vehicles either for the Police Department, the Fire Department or the [Department of Public Works] that have been damaged by saltwater. So I’m really looking forward to the installation of this equipment.”
Identical pumping stations were previously installed on Hudson and Guy Lombardo avenues, which the mayor showcased for the Herald and other media in June while announcing separate federal funding for similar projects in the village. U.S. Rep. Laura Gillen secured that grant funding.
The updated pumping stations will improve the efficiency of flood mitigation by updating the pumps’ check valves. The pumps, Kennedy said, were “100 percent successful in the past.” That hasn’t meant, however, that the area has been invulnerable to flooding during heavy rain and storms: The nor’easter last month caused the most extensive flooding in the area in years, according to meteorologists.
In response to continued concerns about high-water threats, Kennedy has called for the federal government to construct storm surge barrier gates — dam-like structures that hold back high tides — on the South Shore that could further mitigate rising tides. He previously told the Herald that he would be petitioning Long Island’s federal representatives to press the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other agencies to initiate such a project.
