LOWVILLE, N.Y. (WWNY) – Another government agency is ready to help Lewis County with recent flooding: the Department of Environmental Conservation. Meanwhile, several government agencies met in Lowville on Thursday to discuss next steps.
“We hear you and are working as quickly as we can,” Lewis County Highway Superintendent Tim Hunt told the crowd.
The room on the campus of Lowville Jefferson Community College was packed as dozens of state, county, city and village officials gathered to discuss the flooding.
“There are a lot of good ideas, possibly setting up different committees to combat the problem we have with the amount of water we get,” said Paul Denise, Lowville’s public works director.
Lowville has been hit by heavy rains since last month; July was the wettest July the village has ever recorded.
August is expected to be the wettest August since weather records began.
Basements are flooded, residents have become tens of thousands of dollars poorer and the infrastructure is weakening.
“We really wish we could find a simple solution, put a cork in it and fix the problem. But it’s not that simple,” Hunt said.
Representatives from the state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services and the Department of Transportation were in Lewis County, but another agency is working on a solution.
“What we need to do in this community is first understand what the root cause is and then tailor our programs and response efforts to address those root causes,” said Sean Mahar, interim commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection.
In 2019, the DEC launched the REDI program, which stands for Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative.
It helped build new floating docks in Sackets Harbor, erect slab walls at Fort de la Presentation in Ogdensburg, and repair the riverfront in Clayton after flooding damaged the shores of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River.
Although Lowville is not near either, the initiative could be modified.
“It’s really a great model that we want to use because we’re seeing incidents and events like this happening right now in the Watertown and Lowville area,” Mahar said.
Hunt says a cross-agency approach is needed.
“We are looking at all of those options. We are forming working committees that will try to involve the Army Corps of Engineers and the DEC. We will try to involve as many partners as possible. But at the same time, we cannot allow that to stop us from taking immediate action,” he said.
Representatives from Senator Mark Walczyk and Representative Ken Blankenbush were also present at the meeting. The two sent a letter urging the state to provide additional support in advance of next year’s state budget.
In a statement to 7 News, Blankenbush says he will advocate for any assistance necessary to ensure public safety.
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