DE LANCEY, NY - A perennial problem in a rural hamlet in Delaware County worsened dangerously in 1996 when severe storms and flooding overwhelmed a creek and diverted its flow into the hamlet of De Lancey, damaging nearly every home in the community.
However, taking advantage of the New York State Emergency Management Office and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), De Lancey has been spared a repetition of the damage those storms brought in spite of severe weather in the intervening years, said Town of Hamden Supervisor Wayne Marshfield.
At the request of Governor George E. Pataki, the President signed a major disaster declaration as a result of the 1996 flooding, triggering federal and state disaster funds for 41 counties in New York State, including Delaware.
“We had a tremendous flood. Part of the embankment of Bagley Brook slid away, forcing the brook into the hamlet and causing damage to nearly everyone there, about 65 homes,” Supervisor Marshfield recalled. “Every time something happens – every time a major flooding event comes along – it isolates that community. Nobody could get to them and they couldn’t get out.”
The HMGP provides assistance to state and local governments to implement long-term measures that reduce the loss of life and property due to natural disasters, and to initiate those measures immediately following an event.
“Mitigation activities such as these are a smart way of doing business by expending monies now to lessen the threat on communities before an event occurs in the future,” said SEMO Director James W. Tuffey.
In the Town of Hamden, a stream stabilization project was undertaken on Bagley Brook. Gravel deposits were removed, the stream channel was restored and straightened and stone riprap was installed to control erosion. The project was completed in 1999 at a total cost of about $48,000, of which the federal share was about $36,000.
The region has seen several disasters since then, including storms that would almost certainly have eroded the stream bank again, but De Lancey has come through them without severe problems, said Supervisor Marshfield.
“It’s been years and the project has worked,” he said. “It was money well spent."
"This is an excellent example of an investment in infrastructure improvements that will pay dividends for years to come,” said FEMA Federal Coordinating Officer Marianne C. Jackson.
FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, trains first responders, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration.