If you’ve lived around here long enough, you know we have certain areas in the Village that have flooding problems. One such problem, and the biggest one, is the Payn and Hudson Avenues and Elm Street area, and is caused by that cute little stream that comes down from Borden’s Pond. However, when Hurricane Irene came through the area on August 28, there was an overflow of that not-so-cute Borden’s Stream. There was flooding on Payn Avenue and Elm Street, with serious flooding on Hudson Avenue, at the Southern end of Chatham Village. The purpose of this entry is to illustrate where the water comes from and where it has to go, and to provide photo documentation for future conversations with different entities about flood control and prevention work.
You will find a slide show photos that illustrate the birth of Borden’s Stream, through the Pond itself, winding down through the Village and beyond.
The source of Borden’s Stream, is a small valley, or bowl, traversed by Harmon Heights and Austerlitz Street. A contributing factor to flooding is clearing the forest without provisions for suitable stormwater management. Planning and Zoning Boards take note. Mowed and clipped land sheds water much faster than forest floor, adding to the ‘peak flow’. Another factor to this flood, is that the ground was already wet from previous rains, and the soil of whole bowl could hold no more water.
The water races down ditches and streams, feeding Borden’s Pond, which is no longer a pond, since the dam gave way years ago. The outlet has eroded, and the runoff from the hills above rush toward the Village at an ever increasing rate and volume.
When this mad rush gets to the Village culverts and ditches that were designed for much smaller flows, you have a recipe for disaster. From Payn Avenue to the Village limits and beyond, there are many areas threatened by flooding.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
This water issue looks like a complex problem, and one with many approaches to a solution. First of all, the water needs to be slowed down before it enters the Village. If the Borden’s Pond area could be constructed to slowly release water over time, that would alleviate the intense high water ‘peak’. This 8/28/11 storm, with 6″ of steady rain, created a rapid rise to peak flood, and then subsided almost as fast. If there were some manmade wetlands and catch basins above the Village, the water could potentially be released slowly over hours, instead of minutes. The existing culverts and waterways could then handle the outflow from Borden’s Pond better.
On the Southern border of the Village, I notice the extreme high water level on Hudson Ave, in front of the Chatham Plaza and the two banks, as well as the new Price Chopper lot. When I look at the Fairpoint driveway photos, especially the South view, it looks like the water is not as high there as it is farther upstream. This points to a possible restriction in the stream between Fairpoint and the new Price Chopper lot, or in the Fairpoint culvert iytself. Brush, bracken, bushes, shrubberies blocking or slowing the flow of water? Has the stream silted up and needs to be dredged?
This is a problem, and not just a Village problem. This is a case where what one neighbor does upstream has an effect on the neighbor downstream. This encompasses private landowners, businesses, Village, New York State DOT, Columbia Land Conservancy and more agencies than I can shake a stick at.
This series of photos was taken by Tom Curran and Edgar Acevedo during the peak of Irene. This was a lot of fun, running from place to place, observing the flow (or no flow) of water from its source to its exit from the Village. During our rounds that Sunday, we crossed paths with Chatham Village DPW foreman Chris Sperl many times, who was racing from culvert to culvert, clearing sticks and raking junk off storm grates. In preparation for the storm, the DPW crew had cleared ditches and catch basins days before the storm, gassed up the trucks, readied the pumps, and sharpened the chainsaws. Many thanks to the DPW for this timely attention; the flood damage could have been a lot worse.
Below is high water on Payn Ave, with Elm St. on the right. This peak flood lasted about an hour. It could have been a lot worse.
Standing on Payn, Elm to the right
On a happy note, School Street drained just fine, thanks to the storm drain systems that DOT put in. Normally, with this kind of rainfall, there would have been at least two feet of water in the middle of the street, flooding homes on either side, overflowing onto Hudson Ave. Good job, DOT. For comparison, this photo was taken minutes apart from the Elm St photo above.
School Street, Viewed from Thomas, toward Hudson Ave.
Bravo on your excellent coverage of the problem!
State DOT allowed us to hook on to the drainage upgrade on Hudson Ave. The village employees and CE Rothermel installed a 36 inch pipe behind the Chatham House which allows the water from Chatham Manor pond at the intersection of School and Thomas Sts to drain alot more effectively to Hudson Ave. Also the drainage was completely brand new on school and Thomas Street installed by village employees in conjunction with CE Rothermel contractors.
Ed, on the day of the flooding I went down to Thomas and School, and I was impressed at how well the drainage was working. No flooding on School St at all. Cool.
This is impressive research, going to the headwaters and coming back.
It points out the need for a complete study of our landscape, open areas, and potential uses and abuses. As we get impacted by DOT and large developers, we may lose control of the bucolic, natural environment we have. There is great stress being placed on Chatham by outside forces. A planned program of design in all areas should be undertaken immediately.
Borden’s Pond used to be a nice recreation area for winter skating in the fifties.