Storm Recovery Updates
It’s been five days since a devastating storm hit our county, and it’s been a long week of repairs, challenges, and, ultimately, a great show of community spirit, teamwork, and decency.
We wanted to make sure you had the most pertinent information from Putnam Valley Town Hall regarding the storm and recovery efforts, discuss some of the repercussions around extreme weather and our dam, and celebrate one specific moment of our community coming together.
If you have further questions, feel free to contact us at admin@rblpoa.com.
Thank you, and as a reminder: we’re expecting more extreme weather this weekend. So please stay safe and prepare your home as best you can for the storms ahead.
photo by Melissa Bell
Town Updates on the Storm
The beaches remain closed on Roaring Brook Lake.
Advice from Jackie Annabi on insurance coverage from storm damage:
You must first file a claim with your personal insurance company.
Letters denying insurance claims, and any official correspondence related to items not covered by insurance, will be needed for any type of FEMA reimbursements, which may be filed once the Town of Putnam Valley has been approved for FEMA eligibility.
Take lots of pictures, with close up and panoramic views of all damage. Print all pictures.
Keep all receipts for anything bought in the process of repair of damaged property.
Keep a specific record of all destroyed/damaged items with estimated costs for replacement. All of these items should be filed with your insurance company claim.
All documents must be saved and secured until it is time to file for FEMA reimbursements.
Any questions please call 845-526-2121 and the town will do their best to walk you through the process.
The town will have its regular bulk drop-off on Saturday August 19, 2023, but if you have damaged household items or construction debris, you can make an appointment to drop off those items from July 17 - July 31. Call 845-661-6535 to make an appointment.
Protecting our Dam
The good news: our dam withstood the storm. The July 9 storm brought us within inches of overtopping the dam, but not quite. The dam was, thankfully, spared.
Why is "overtopping" such a concern? The spillway (the narrow pathway in the middle of the dam which is dry when the lake is low and a pretty waterfall when the lake level is a little higher) is constructed from rock and concrete and is designed to manage a large flow of water. If stormwater were to fill the lake so high that the overflowing water was no longer contained by the spillway, but ran over the top of the dam, it would be very dangerous.
Our dam is an earthen dam, meaning it is made of packed earth. It is the weight and mass of the packed earth that holds back the lake. Strong, forceful water going over an earthen dam like ours could weaken the packed earth and possibly cause a breach (a breach is where the dam fails and the whole lake behind it escapes). The impact on our community would be terrible – we’d lose our lake. But the impact downstream, on homes and infrastructure in Putnam Valley, would be much, much worse. Houses could be destroyed and lives could be lost. That is why we need to plan for the thousand year storm – to rehabilitate our dam so that overtopping won’t happen.
When we have predictable storms that can be forecasted, we can open the valve in advance of the storm to lower the lake in anticipation of the storm event. We did this with good success for Hurricane Irene. However, the July 9th storm showed us that we are likely to see more of these unpredictable storm events. The forecast was for a manageable 2 inches of rain, right up to the beginning of the event. There was no warning, no time to lower the lake in anticipation of the storm.
We are very grateful that the storm wasn’t worse than it was. We are also grateful that the Town is moving quickly along the path to rehabilitating the RBL dam. We have a good engineering plan which has been approved by the DEC and we should be ready soon to send the plan out for bids and then to have construction get started. You can see the plans or read more here.
Operation Rescue Carp
While there were many acts of kindness over the past week – neighbors loaning dehumidifiers to basement-flooded friends, checking in on the homes of out-of-towners, etc. – one incident truly showed what our community can do when it comes together to help our lake.
During the storm, over a hundred of the lake’s carp were pushed over the dam’s spillway and into the water flooding the area near the Two Bridges park. These carp are some of our biggest lake residents: they can reach over three-feet-long and can weigh 40-50 pounds.
For the residents who went to see the storm damage, and found these fish swimming in a few feet of water in what should be a park, the question quickly came to be: what do we do to save the fish?
Well, a host of people helped to answer that question. Led by Sam Lee and Dennis Berdecia Sr., over 25 residents worked in the murky water for three days to clear the carp fence, wrangle, catch, and transport fish, fill coolers with water, donate supplies and drinks, loan trucks, keep tallies, and document the events.
The team used around 10 nets – all were broken by the fish. In addition, a volleyball net from the PVCSD & construction fencing from Al Salanitro, had holes torn by these torpedoes busting through.
But by Thursday, all 105 carp that spilled into the park below were accounted for, and 91 carp made it back to the lake alive. It was a huge operation, and we’re so grateful for the team effort. After such a devastating week in our town, it’s wonderful to see our community spirit come through.
This is likely not a complete list, but we want to give a special thanks to these neighbors for their work with the carp: Alice Armao, Ivy Baldwin, Basquali, Dennis Berdecia, Dennis Berdecia III, Eddie Bradley, Kate Cunningham, Chris DiGiorgio, Mike Gelfer, John Groetch, Alex Harris, Patty Johnson, Sam Lee, Bob Macedo, Kevin Maffetone, Mike Maffetone, Terry McGrath, Brendan O'Brien, Juliet Regnier, Mareka Regnier, Sam Regnier, Al Salanitro, David Spittal, Fran Taney, Rich Taney, Andre Tarrant, and the POA.
All photographs and videos courtesy of Alex Harris with the exception of the first photograph, courtesy Paulo Winterstein.
