CWC funds stormwater planning projects

MARGARETVILLE, NY, October 31, 2006 - Stormwater issues in Arkville, Margaretville and in the Schoharie Creek basin will be addressed with funds from the Catskill Watershed Corporation (CWC).

The CWC Board of Directors on October 24 approved a Stormwater Retrofit Planning and Assessment Grant of $30,732 to the Arkville Country Store to design a project to stop inflow and infiltration from the store property into the Margaretville Wastewater Treatment Plant collection system.

The project is being done in cooperation with the NYC Department of Environmental Protection which owns the treatment plant and which is currently conducting a sanitary sewer study to determine the locations of leaks allowing runoff and groundwater into the collection system.

It is believed that an artesian well under one of the garage bays at the Arkville Country Store, along with runoff from the slope behind the store, is entering the wastewater collection system through a damaged sewage lateral pipe. The planning project will evaluate, design and prepare bid documents for a stormwater retrofit project, which could be funded by a construction grant from CWC.

A community-wide stormwater infrastructure assessment and planning project will be conducted in the Village of Margaretville using a $49,900 grant approved by the CWC Board. This, too, will be done in conjunction with the DEP’s I & I study, and will result in a prioritized list of recommendations for stormwater system improvements.

In both cases, the 15% grant match will be contributed by the DEP. "These are excellent examples of cooperation among CWC and partner agencies to solve longstanding problems," commented Ira Stern, Director of the Division of Watershed Lands and Community Planning. CWC Board member Deb Dewan said they could serve as models of both environmental and community planning.

The Town of Prattsville was also granted $454,000 for a Stormwater Retrofit project in conjunction with a new City-funded sewer system being installed in the hamlet of Prattsville. The stormwater project will involve new gutters along 900 feet of Washington Avenue, 14 new catch basins along Washington Ave. and Route 23, and installation of a Vortech treatment unit and a swale behind the town hall. Greene County will pave Washington Avenue.

The CWC Board also amended program rules for the Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) to add $500,000 targeted for stormwater improvements in the Schoharie Creek basin in Greene, Schoharie and Delaware Counties. The funds will be used to conduct studies on the environmental and infrastructure impacts of future development in the basin and potential mitigation measures to control such impacts, with a focus on turbidity. The Schoharie Creek feeds the Schoharie Reservoir which is part of the massive New York City Water System.

The funds were provided by NYC as a condition of a State Pollution Discharge and Elimination System (SPDES) Permit issued to the City by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation for the release of Schoharie Reservoir water from the Shandaken Tunnel to the Esopus Creek.

For more information on CWC benefit programs and activities, go to www.cwconline.org or call 845-586-1400.