Streams need repairs years after flood

YATES COUNTY--A little more than two years after the floods of 2014, the Yates County Soil and Water Conservation District is still dealing with the aftermath. Soil and Water is currently seeking bids to conduct stream stabilization at three sites within the county, two in Jerusalem and one in Potter. Coordinator Tom Eskildsen said this is a result of new funding to aid farmers who had streams that were negatively impacted by the flooding.
"This is stabilizing streams going through farmland as a result of the flood in May of 2014," Eskidlsen said. "We were able to secure some grant funds through New York State to help stabilize the farmland."
Eskidlsen noted the entire grant package amounts to $319,000, which will go toward additional projects around Keuka Lake like erosion control projects and pesticide handling facilities for vineyard farmers. He said they were just awarded this funding six months ago and the stream stabilization projects will be the first issues addressed using this money. It should take the soil and water district two to three years to implement the entire package.
Eskildsen has previously said the flood washed away thousands of tons of productive farmland in a matter of hours, leaving large areas of washouts and deposited debris. Many locations were left with no soil to re-build cropland and vineyards. Eskildsen estimated the stream projects should begin and conclude this fall.
"There will be a lot of heavy stone that will be brought in, a lot of shaping, regrading and then a lot of stabilization with the heavy stone," Eskildsen said. He estimated some 1,800 tons of medium stone will be used in the projects, along with 360 tons of 28-inch select stone. Eskildsen estimated approximately 1,650 feet of stream will be worked on across all three sites.
"We were very lucky to get these funds to try to help people continue to recover," Eskildsen said.