Storm recovery efforts continue

WATKINS GLEN--An intense and isolated storm, June 5, in the village of Watkins Glen overwhelmed drainage areas and even briefly closed State Route 14. Several inches of rain fell in less than an hour, causing significant flooding. The water also moved tons of sediment that has and continues to be removed.
The New York state Department of Transportation is cleaning out the culvert under Route 14, north of Fairgrounds Lane, and later this summer, the Schuyler County Soil and Water Conservation District will assist with stream stabilization efforts on the west side of Route 14.
Already complete is excavating a waterway that runs down Fairgrounds Lane in the village of Watkins Glen. The SWCD was able to use the town of Hector's excavator, and one of SWCD's operators, Jim Barrett. The county highway department and the town of Dix provided several trucks to haul the deposited sediment away. The village of Watkins Glen Highway Department provided traffic control.
Over 30 truckloads of sediment were hauled away.
The next step was to clean a box culvert that runs underneath Fairgrounds Lane itself. This significant culvert was almost completely full of sediment. The SWCD provided its excavator and operators, the county highway department provided a truck, the village of Watkins Glen provided traffic control and labor, and the town of Montour provided its fire truck and labor.
This step was labor intensive, in very poor conditions. Carl Silliman from the town of Montour Highway Department and Scott Taylor from the village of Watkins Glen Highway Department were in the box culvert the entire day in standing water, crawling the 40+ feet back and forth to flush the culvert out. This process took nearly 21,000 gallons of water. The perseverance in these conditions helped mitigate a substantial flooding issue for local businesses and residents.
The shared service effort has aided the recovery.