Middleburgh Gorge Creek Flood Project Complete, Working Well

MIDDLEBURGH - The $3 million Gorge Creek flood mitigation project, completed last year, is operating and functioning as expected, Middleburgh village board members were told last month.

The project, which was completed with the installation of a large culvert under Main Street last year, has slowed down water coming down the creek, by the old library, under Main Street, and under the high school, Peter Nichols, district manager for Schoharie County Soil and Water told board members at their September meeting.

During the August 28, 2011 flood, water from the creek hit  blockage in the culvert at Wells Avenue and backed up and flooded several back streets of the village. That should not happen again with the reworked creek, much larger culvert, and a  catch basin, Mr. Nichols said.

Previously, the water would come down the creek at a high rate of speed. It was "a shotgun barrel for water," he said.

The reworked creek spreads the water out, slowing it down.

This down not mean that periodic maintenance is not required. The catch basin that was built collects a lot of silt that has to be removed, Mr. Nichols said. The DOT removed about four feet of fil this summer, probably, five times more than was taken out two years ago.

The new five-by10-foot culvert is much larger and does not clog, he added. The culvert, though, should be inspected every year. The pond also needs to be checked annually.

The first 20 feet of the culvert, the DOT right-of-way, collects more silt and there is currently about six to eight inches of sand in it.

Overall, the project has been a success, Mr. Nichols said.

"We're in really good shape. The village is much safer."

He showed board members pictures of the interior of the culvert. A battery-operated, mini-dozier would be a good purchase for the village to clear out the box culvert.

The mini-dozier would cost "a couple of hundred thousand" dollars and could be purchased with funding from grants, along with lights and cameras.

The $3 million Gorge Creek project was paid for by the state after the devastating flood of 2011.