Lake George Town Highway Department
LOCATION: Lake George Town Highway Department
ACTION: In 2008, a stormwater problem at the Lake George town highway department was identified. Virtually all of the stormwater on the highway department’s 1.8 acre site was flowing to a single outlet on the north end of the property. The aftermath from storm events would cause a tremendous amount of erosion that would run directly into West Brook.
With the help of the LGA, this nonpoint source pollution was eliminated in the fall of 2010. Construction on a new $53,000 system, estimated to handle about 14,800 cubic feet of runoff, was completed. Two sets of double stacked dry wells capture runoff from the site. (Each of the four dry wells is four-feet high and eight-feet wide.) From the dry wells the flow is directed into 40 StormTech© MC-3500 infiltration chambers via a 12-inch manifold distribution pipe.
RESULTS: The system was completed just in time. Its first test was a heavy storm that dropped almost three inches of rain. Dan Davis, from the Highway Department crew, checked on the system throughout the storm and the large amount of rain did not overtop the system at all. Stormwater that was previously running off the site is now getting directed into the system and infiltrated into the soils, recharging the groundwater.
HISTORY: The highway department’s stormwater problem was originally identified in a Warren County Soil and Water Conservation Department (WCSWCD) watershed field study on West Brook. The field study looked at upland areas and identified areas of nonpoint source pollution within the watershed. While they knew they had a major problem, the highway department did not have the estimated $75,000 in funds required to fix the situation. State funds were requested from the Lake George Watershed Coalition (LGWC), but reimbursement through that program comes only after a project is completed, and the town didn’t have the up-front money needed. Local matching funds were also required.
The LGA used requested funds from the Helen V. Froehlich Foundation as part of the local match. Lake George Town Highway Superintendent Hoddy Ovitt offered equipment and labor as part of the match as well. After walking through the site and discussing the project with WCSWCD’s Dave Wick, estimates to just capture the stormwater runoff on the site were lowered to $35,000 to $40,000. The Lake George Association decided it was important to step in and fund the project up front to alleviate and fix this critical stormwater problem quickly, rather than wait.
The project took several weeks to complete, from the initial excavation to the final paving. The cost and transport of materials and paving costs were slightly underestimated and additional funding was secured through the Champlain Watershed Improvement Coalition of New York (CWICNY). WCSWCD provided the design and project oversight. The highway department provided equipment and labor, and Warren County provided an excavator and paving crew.
PROJECT PARTNERS: Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District, Lake George Town Highway Department, Warren County
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF PROJECT SUPPORT: Helen V. Froehlich Foundation, Lake George Town Highway Department, Warren County, Champlain Watershed Improvement Coalition of New York.
