Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Casadaga Lake Flooding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Casadaga Lake flooding: county, conservationists and contractors outline short- and long-term actions
Summary
County watershed staff, local lake association leaders and consultants described a three-part plan — remove sediment at Maple Avenue bridge, manage beaver impacts and pursue longer-term infrastructure to control water levels — and said DEC permitting and wetland protections make the timeline protracted.
County and local officials updated the Planning & Economic Development Committee on severe high-water and sediment problems at Casadaga Lake and Casadaga Creek, and outlined immediate and longer-term steps to reduce flooding risk to private property and septic systems.
Dave McCoy, Chautauqua County watershed coordinator, and Bob Reuther, Casadaga Lakes Association (CLA) manager, described a drainage choke point beneath the Maple Avenue bridge where sand, gravel, vegetation and fallen trees have reduced outflow and raised lake levels. Reuther estimated several beaver dams and multiple sediment accumulations between Maple Avenue and Reese Road and said the condition has worsened in the last three years.
The CLA and county staff proposed three initial actions: excavate and remove the sediment and vegetation under the Maple Avenue bridge as a temporary but necessary step; implement a targeted beaver-management program with licensed trappers to reduce repeated dam-building; and pursue a longer-term engineered solution that would restore conveyance capacity and include a storage/holding area to moderate lake levels. The long-term plan relies on updated engineering work; EcoStrategy (consultant) prepared a 2019 feasibility study that county staff plan to refresh.
County and state regulatory steps will be required. County staff said they met with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and that wetland and waterway permits (including joint permit and Article 24 wetlands review) will be necessary, so on-the-ground work will proceed on a permitting timetable. Dave McCoy said the DEC is aware that several septic systems are currently at risk because flooded yards and saturated soils impair septic function; staff raised that health concern in the DEC meeting to emphasize urgency.
Contractors identified operational options. Travis Storer of Legend Excavating and an ILM Environments contractor described equipment and approach for clearing channels and hauling spoil off-site; EcoStrategy’s Andy Johnson will lead permitting and engineering support. The association noted existing modest local funding (CLA receives about $6,000 per year from county occupancy allocations) is insufficient compared with estimated maintenance needs in excess of roughly $25,000 annually for the lake area.
Timing and effects: Residents may wait several weeks for lake levels to recede after precipitation or melting; a speaker said it can take “a good 3 to 4 weeks” once precipitation stops. The committee was asked to support initial funding and to help coordinate permitting and landowner agreements; the CLA said it will contribute local funds and lead outreach to affected landowners.
No formal resolution or appropriation was taken at the meeting; staff and the CLA requested county support to begin permitting, clear the Maple Avenue bridge choke point and assemble a long-term project plan.
