Microburst & NINE Inches of Rain in Blooming Grove - How Did We Dodge a Bullet? Or Was it Plenty of Hard Work?
- ejreporter
- 11 hours ago
- 8 min read
Updated: 2 hours ago
One week ago, people in New York were still reeling from a Microburst and accumulations of 6 to 9 inches of rain in just over 24 hours. How did Blooming Grove and Washingtonville fare? Remarkably well.
When the 250th Birthday of the United States on the 4th of July has awesome celebrations but also a lot of cancellations, you know the warnings of severe weather were correct. In some towns and cities there were building collapses. In others there was "just" transformer explosions, and lots and lots of wires and trees down. There were trees and wires down in the Town of Blooming Grove and Village of Washingtonville as well, and plenty of complaints to Orange & Rockland Utilities when some homeowners were without electricity for up to 24 hours. But given the extraordinary amount of rain (Yes, I took out my tape measure and sunk it in what had been an empty bucket the day before and it reached 9 inches here on Round Hill Road between Route 208 and Route 94). And I believe that reports of a North to South Microburst came right across this farm, because in the blink of an eye there were several items along the garden path between the house and garage that literally went flying. BUT, many homeowners were on the side of Orange and Rockland, singing their praises by the time it was all over and they had watched linemen working for 24 hours straight to get their electricity back again. In the end, other than fearful residents with no electricity and some area cancellations of America's 250th Birthday events, there were trees and branches downed and many hours of sleep lost by some residents and many highway workers, County Emergency Center staff, and local officials.
Thank your Supervisor Jeroloman, Deputy Supervisor Acevedo Mayor DeVinko, and Deputy Mayor Coleman and Board members, and especially Highway Superintendent, Wayne Kirkpatrick and Building Department staff. And they emphasized the outstanding work done this week by Orange and Rockland, and any other Utility Company staff that helped save us from danger on America's 250th Birthday. Instead, our community was one of the few in the Lower Mid-Hudson Valley that was still able to hold a large and festive celebration with the band " Probable Cause" spreading their music across the fields and to the mountains.
But why wasn't it worse? We remember Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Irene. We remember boats rushing to evacuate homeowners and save lives, the flooded May's Field, the Bull Mill Bridge wiped out, and homeowners spending months and many dollars cleaning flooded homes and properties (often costing thousands of dollars). But do you also remember the hundreds of hours officials and highway workers spent developing FLOOD MITIGATION PLANS during the past 10-15 years? Do you remember the bridges that were rebuilt better, the massive new culverts in several places including Route 94 North of the Village of Washingtonville? Did you know how many hours every storm had towns helping other towns, villages helping other villages? In fact, reciprocal assists are now built right into our municipal contracts. Our Supervisors and Mayors went to lengthy seminar sessions both contributing and learning techniques of flood control and stormwater management in addition to developing new emergency measures and rescue and relief centers.
The "Trees for Tribs Program" expanded so roots would help absorb water and stabilize shorelines. Highway Superintendent, Wayne Kirkpatrick received authority to cut and dispose of dangerous trees and limbs during an emergency. He said that there were dozens of branches and trees down during this last storm. They contributed to the overall concern of residents, especially in the Mt. Lodge area where electricity was out for such a long time, and Kirkpatrick helped clear the way.
But not every member of a community works hard to protect the environment.
This greenish-blue haze of water that flowed all the way from Clove Road to Route 208, Perry Creek, and toward the Washingtonville Water Treatment Plant. The developer received $150,000 in citations along with stop-work orders as follow-up from the Town's discussions with DEC.
An Unauthorized Road that was being built from Mangin Rd. in the Village of South Blooming Grove that went through Parkland and was stopped with a court order including requirements to replenish environment that had been disturbed (and that Parkland is a major contributor to water absorption and aquifer replenishment).
I assume many of you (as I did) had to save money doing reclamation work yourselves after Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Irene, whether repainting damaged interiors and/or taking a shovel and pik axe and digging trenches that now keep the water "at bay" (sic). And let's give some credit to our governors and the feds who provided funding for this 10-15 years of storm preparation so there were NO boat rescues, NO damage to the new pickelball and basketball courts at May's Field. And my home (which had historically been known to flood since it was built in 1810) has not had a drop of water in the house for two years because of the almost 100-ft. trench I dug with a pik axe and shovel. And there is an old sayings that water seeks its own level, and therefore rainwater and drainage will generally keep going in the direction of a trench as long as there is no barrier (and is doublechecked at least twice annually). One other new pattern that is helping our drainage system is that every year the Highway Department hires young students as apprentices in their Stormwater Management Program. This Spring you may have seen them assisting in deepening the drainage ditches along the side of Prospect and other roads. Most of Blooming Grove's water issues are related to 4 water sources and a large aquifer. The water sources include the Moodna Creek, Satterly Creek, Cromline Creek and Perry Creek, and they are all carefully monitored. A new culvert was just completed where Twin Arch Road meets with Route 94 and a tributary of the Moodna joins with the main creek. CAC members (Conservation Advisory Committees) have been enlisted and expanded in towns and villages to educate and improve environmental protection measures, like the review currently being done of the Town of Blooming Grove's Tree Code.
These many enhancements for environmental safety of residents depend a lot on cooperation between municipal officials of Blooming Grove and Washingtonville, working with Orange County Executive, Steve Neuhaus, and the State of New York, and as we well know 4 different organization cooperating toward a complex goal is an incredibly complex process.
BEFORE
NOW
And so, while even our best forecasts on how the weather and especially storms will impact the public, it is still always a best GUESS. Did we get lucky? Or did all the backbreaking and brainwracking hard work of the past 10 years pay off.
It is probably a mixture of both. Plus, remember those horrendous days of heat earlier in the month? Because the ground was less saturated because of those 96-105 degree days it took longer to saturate from the 9 inches of rain than it might otherwise have.
In the image below contractors were found constructing an unauthorized ROAD from Mangin Road for miles, and through Gonzaga Parkland, in an effort to connect South Blooming Grove with Seven Springs Road. They were cited and stopped after being brought to court.
One thing I feel the need to point out. The pressure for more and more affordable housing can have a devastating effect on how stormwater runs, unless it includes Smart Planning techniques. And that should include not overloading an area's electric grid, and not doing that just to provide cheaper housing. Our changes to the environment are interactive! And there are only so many disruptions to the natural flow of water in our region that the land can handle without resulting in stormwater MIS-management, ESPECIALLY when our Governor has facilitated the building of ever-increasing affordable housing units (and eliminating some SEQRA steps in order to expedite the work) on land that once was full of trees that helped disburse water safely.
Farmland is not excused from floodwater damage either. Two years after moving to a new farm property (I always wanted a farm down in a valley so I would be sure the horses would never run out of vegetation), Like everyone else, I got hit with several severe storms including Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Irene rainstorms. Not having the funds left after moving expenses to have a complex new drainage system installed, it was the good old farm life way for me. I used a pik axe and a shovel for about 100 ft. I took my time studying how the water drains from Cromwell Creek to 94 and then down rather steep slopes to Round Hill Road. Knock on wood, between the beautiful raingardens the previous owner hand planted, the long trench I dug, and the path that the horses made from the upper field to the lower ones, the excess water now flows to the wetlands (where it belongs), and there is plenty of room for it to get filtered along the way.
The Town of Blooming Grove spent numerous of these past 10 years in litigation over an enormous new development that was not following proper stormwater management guidance. These corrective steps must continue, and they must continue to litigate where developers skip the steps necessary to guard our community's safety.
How did we dodge this bullet, and will we continue to keep the upper hand with our environmental challenges? Is all of this time and money and emphasis on "SMART PLANNING" worth it? Contesting with environmental challenges is never easy, and we will need people in our corner that are extremely committed to doing whatever we can to stay safe and protect our beautiful local scenery. One big step toward that can be the ongoing development of the Scheunnemunk Rail Trail, which is guaranteed to bring people (whether tourists or potential home and business buyers) who are devoted to maintaining our ongoing good relationship with our local land and the earth.
The development of our stretch of the Moodna Rail Trail, from the border of Chester and Blooming Grove at the former Camp LaGuardia site, through all of Blooming Grove and Washingtonville, and on to Cornwall is an incredible opportunity to educate and learn from others with the same goals. Orange County Planning (in concert with the Parks Department and County Exec) has already made progress with this new Trail through farmland and woods to Craigville Road, and we expect them to reach Washingtonville during the next 2 years. What an opportunity for both existing business, new business, and people dedicated to nature.
County Officials checking out one of the many bridges to
be repaired along the Trail in Blooming Grove
The first stretch of the new Trail as it goes through Blooming Grove
Does anyone remember the public stormwater study sessions that were held about 10 years ago, with prints of all at risk water drainage areas? Much of this success may be because of those studies and volumes of work following them. Might this have just not been as bad a storm, or a storm that did not "hit us straight on?" Sure, but microbursts and 9 inches of rain are a serious event, and I like the odds of where we seem to be headed storm-wise.
By Edie Johnson
Executive Editor
Orange County Courier Journal