Within the next week or two, the Town of Clarkstown will begin removing soil from the Central Nyack Drainage Project and store it at the Commuter Lot on Route 303 in West Nyack.  The fill is earmarked for use to build a higher berm around the Klein Avenue drainage basin to help alleviate flooding in that West Nyack neighborhood.  Town Supervisor Alex Gromack anticipates 30,000 cubic yards of fill will be stored in the underutilized parking lot for a year and half since the planning for the Klein Avenue drainage basin work has just begun.

By saving the fill, not having to pay for it to be hauled away and eliminating the need to purchase more soil at a later date, Gromack said the town will save up to $1 million.

“It’s a win-win situation,” he said.  “We came up with a program where we can save the dirt.  The DOT has been gracious enough to let us store the dirt.”

The project in Nyack involves the construction of a drainage basin.  The soil removed from that project by the contractor will be stored at the parking lot on Northbound Route 303 until the town has all the approvals necessary for the work in West Nyack.  The plan is to raise the height of the earthen berm currently surrounding the Klein Avenue drainage basin, which would increase the holding capacity of the basin.  The amount of water that the basin can currently hold was not available. 

“That’s just in the early stage of being studied,” said Gromack. We have to finish the design.”

The Klein Ave project will need permits from New York State and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  Gromack said he anticipates the work could begin in 2013.

The Clarkstown Town Board voted on Tuesday to authorize a $499,000 bond and letter of credit for $49,900 as required by the state Department of Transportation.  The DOT required the bond and letter of credit to secure the removal of the fill.

Klein Avenue residents and many others on nearby streets were inundated with water during Hurricane Irene that damaged their homes.