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#Post#: 254--------------------------------------------------
Erie Canal Embankment Safety, a clear case of definition.
DIR By: Doug K
Date: January 24, 2019, 9:31 am
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It's been awhile since anything has been written about the NY
Canal Corporation EERP Project on the ECNA Forum site. Blame it
on the recent winter weather slowing the EERP repair work crews
or maybe the fact that fewer folks are complaining about the
project on the Facebook page dedicated to stand in the way of
this safety-driven project, or maybe the ECNA Forum writers
simply needed a break. Whatever the reason it seems the Erie
Canal repair project has started to make people see the obvious,
yes there is an Earthen Embankment Dam in our backyards.
As many who are involved with this project know, EERP stands for
the Earthen Embankment Remediation Project and the work that
many living along the Erie Canal Trailway have seen transform
hills near their property, that were once covered in trees and
"undesired" underbrush, into a much cleaner, vegetation free,
and safer embankment dam. Based on the sections of dams through
part the EERP Phase 2 work in Brockport, it also looks like the
NY Canal Corporation (NYCC) and NY Department of Environmental
Conservation (DEC) will have ZERO issues with future inspection
accessibility. As the NYCC moves to drone-based inspection of
the Erie Canal, this remediation work will allow for a more
thorough inspection process using their thermal based imaging.
Hard to imagine so many neighboring homeowners had missed the
simple fact that these slopes, adjoining their properties or
running through their neighborhoods, were actually EARTHEN dam
embankments. Hopefully the EERP Project transformation has
prompted many folks to rethink their opposition to this NYCC
safety project simply by showing them that these embankments are
actually Outboard Slopes of a series of interconnected Dams when
cleared. Sometimes these are VERY long Embankment Dams. Below
is a picture that has been circulated to many Hydrology &
Embankment Experts involved with this project, and everyone who
has seen it now states unequivocally that what is shown is an
Earthen Embankment Dam. This is part of a 4 mile long embankment
dam section in Brockport, NY, that reaches heights of 35' or
more.
[attachimg=1]
You see folks, if you understand the actual definition of a Dam,
you also understand that the picture above is showing one...
some here don't.
NY Canal Corporation's original statements about this EERP
project; that most if not all embankment sections were deemed
"unsafe" by current US Dam Standards, has been proven to be
true. The NYCC also holds the most recent Erie Canal Inspection
reports performed by Rizzo Engineering showing that almost ALL
sections of the dams are not able to be properly inspected due
to thick undergrowth which have been found to be almost 100%
invasive species. All of this is corrected by the EERP project,
and a safer dam will be the result.
Also recently proven true was the statement made by the NY Power
& Canal about the nature of their work, that is was a REPAIR
being made to an existing dam structure, not that the NYCC folks
were simply "clearing land" as some in the area have proposed.
The lawsuit brought by 3 towns in Monroe County to stop this
EERP project based on "SEQRA" requirements, was recently
overruled by NY DEC, who understood what was wrong and how the
NY Canal Corp intended to make it right. the DEC also recognized
that these slopes are actually earthen dams.
In the end it appears that the NY Canal Corporation and it's
parent entity, the NY Power Authority, were telling the truth
regarding this project, and also watching out for the safety of
the Erie Canal Waterway, the National Heritage Corridor and it's
all of our surrounding canal communities when it embarked on
this EERP project.
It bothered me how so many of my own neighbors could not see
what this project is about, choosing to follow those promoting a
course to keep the very trees causing the problems with the
embankment dams. Maybe it's because they empty the Erie Canal
for the winter months and folks lose sight that these are still
Earthen Embankment Dams. Thought a picture might just help
here. It was taken from the same spot as the picture shown
above, just a close up of the actual cleared embankment. If it
was FULL of water in the Winter would it make it easier for
people to believe it's a real dam? Here's what it would look
like folks.. YES it is still a Dam in the winter.
[attachimg=2]
As a Monroe County homeowner with 400 feet of earthen dam
frontage, a known Erie Canal leak on our property and 3.5
million gallons of water behind our dam section, ready to flood
northeast Brockport, I wanted to take the time AGAIN, to say
Thank You to the NY Canal Corporation & NY Power Authority's
decision to stand FOR safety on this project, especially when so
many in the public blindly followed those working against public
safety... in the name of "trees".
Not sure why others can't see what's right in front of them,
it's always a dam somewhere, it always has some water in it
above ground level.
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