Posted Friday, June 28, 2019
The Walton Central School District will start the process of flood-proofing Townsend Elementary School, thanks in part to a grant from the Catskill Watershed Corporation (CWC).
The grant will cover the cost of designing of dry flood protection at Townsend, specifically covering the kindergarten/first-grade wing, and the second-grade wing. The flood-proof doors would manually be put into place if there was a threat of a flood, blocking areas water could get into the school.
“This is a great first step in addressing necessary improvements to our buildings and in protecting our taxpayers’ investment,” Walton Interim Superintendent Larry Thomas said. “The Board of Education and I very much appreciate the interest of the CWC in mutually protecting the area. We also value their cooperation in helping us make these renovations affordable to the community.”
Townsend, which is listed as a critical facility, is located along East Brook in Walton, and has been highly susceptible to floods over the past two decades.
Walton CSD was awarded $83,740 for the project of designing property protection. The grant, approved by the CWC Board of Directors on June 4, will come from the Flood Hazard Mitigation Program.
“The program’s goal is to secure structures and take other measures to reduce damage in future floods,” CWC Executive Director Alan Rosa said. “The aim is to protect water quality in streams and in New York City’s reservoirs, while helping to keep our communities intact.”
This is just the first step in protecting Townsend said Delaware County Soil and Water Conservation District Stream Program Manager Graydon Dutcher, who also serves on the Walton CSD Board of Education.
Dutcher said after the 2011 flood, a study showed there were three options – do nothing, relocate the structure, or flood-proof Townsend. Doing nothing is not an option, Dutcher said, because East Brook sees flooding too frequently. The district looked to relocate Townsend to the Stockton Avenue campus, but the community did not favor that option.
That leaves the final option of flood-proofing the school.
Dutcher said the Facilities Committee has worked diligently and overtime to find the best solution that will benefit the school, while not affecting taxes.
The committee identified several things that are critical in nature at Townsend – with the flood-proofing being one of the top ones. Also included are the parking lots and the roof.
“This is our greatest risk,” Dutcher said. “Townsend has flooded. If the storms that came through the state recently had shifted 20 miles, it could have been us again.”
In 2017, the Walton Flood Commission had an analysis for the town and it talked about protecting the most important infrastructures – and Townsend was one of the ones at the top of the list. It’s not just big floods that can affect the area – Dutcher pointed out to the ice jams this past winter that had to be cleared out. Had they not been cleared, a smaller event with the jams could have pushed into the parking lot and the school itself.
The first step was to secure funding for the design concept, which will include the flood-proof doors, as well as the addition of three sump pumps in the basement. Once the design is finished, Dutcher said the plan is for Walton CSD to go back to the Catskill Watershed Corporation to seek funding for the project in the late summer/early fall. If everything goes as planned, the hope is to look for a capital project vote in December.
“We want to go to the general public with a grant in hand,” Dutcher said. “This is new and unique. We are looking to flood-proof this structure while saving the taxpayers money.”