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Middletown approves CDM Smith design work for riparian buffers on reservoir watershed properties
Summary
The Board of Aldermen approved a proposal for CDM Smith to design riparian buffer restoration for properties bought with state DEC WQIP grants; the work targets stormwater cleanup for the reservoirs that supply the city’s drinking water.
The Middletown Board of Aldermen voted to authorize a proposal from CDM Smith to perform design-phase work for riparian buffer restoration on watershed properties purchased with New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Water Quality Improvement Project (WQIP) grants.
Alderman Massey said the city received two DEC grants, each for $3,000,000 with a 25 percent local match, and has used round 14 funds to buy watershed property. He said the current proposal would use remaining grant funds and available round 15 funding to design riparian buffers—including on a recently purchased property referred to as the “horse farm”—to filter stormwater before it reaches streams that feed the city’s reservoirs.
“The proposal before you tonight is to take advantage of the money that’s still available for us within the grant for CDM to do an evaluation for constructing the riparian buffers on all the properties that we purchase,” Alderman Massey said during his report.
The aldermen cast roll-call votes on the resolution, and it passed. The council record shows the resolution was sponsored by Alderman Johnson and seconded by Alderman Witt.
Why it matters: riparian buffers—vegetated areas next to waterways—are commonly used to trap sediments and pollutants from runoff. The design-phase work authorized by the board will guide actual planting and construction to protect the city’s drinking-water supply.
What was discussed: Alderman Massey described the grants and local match requirement, the need to clean and stabilize the horse farm property, and the city’s intent to use remaining grant funding across rounds 14 and 15. No formal amendments or conditions were recorded during the council discussion.
The resolution passed by voice and roll call at the meeting; aldermen present voted in favor. The board did not record additional binding implementation dates in the meeting minutes; follow-up details on contract timing and construction schedules were not specified.
