This has been an interesting month with water levels. Between the 1st of the month and the 26th, the level has dropped 2 tenths (2.4 inches). That’s very unusual for February. The River Board has kept the outflows high, adjusting them several times each week up and down. They have still not crossed the 11,000 cm/s threshold which the plan allows them to do. I expect we will learn that this has been a dryer month than normal as was January. Hopefully, a dry spring will follow.

I’m sure you have heard that shipping will get underway on April 1. While later than the shipping industry would like by 12 days, it is not really a delay in shipping. Over the last 10 years shipping has started the last few days of March or the 1st of April. The net result of water levels will be small.

I expect the work to measure the heights of the existing sandbags will conclude next week. This will provide the information needed to finalize our sandbagging plans for 2020. We also expect delivery of some sandbags next week which we will store until needed. We will continue to work with Wayne County Emergency Management to determine if and when to deploy sandbags. We are watching long term weather forecasts as well as the work of the River Board in an effort to expend no more resources than necessary to ensure we stay dry in 2020. The River Board has stated that their plan is to keep the water on Lake Ontario below 247.7’. Based on past experience that seems unlikely but time will tell.

All four REDI projects submitted the Engineering Reports to NYS on the 14th. They are currently under review by various state agencies. These are the triggers to obtain funding contracts. The reports are available on our web site https://soduspointredi.com and in the village office.

The Stormwater project is in the 50%+ design state and permitting is underway with NYSDOT and NYSDEC. There have been several changes to road alignment and grades to ensure drainage and avoid existing utilities. The pump stations are not yet finalized in design and some of the locations are being re-evaluated. This project is going very well at this point.

The Beach Dune project has identified some pre-work that will occur this spring to begin to gather sand and reduce the need for aquadams. Some 1200 tons of sand are planned for the initial work to bring the entire area to a consistent elevation of approximately 252’. Snow fence will also be placed to both capture sand and define the proposed location of the dune. Permitting for these actions is underway with NYSDEC, USACE, and NYSDOS. These actions were recommended by the Beach Advisory Committee that is working with the designer.

Both Lakestones and White Birch projects are facing budget issues. The designs proposed by OBG, the engineering firm hired by NYS do not meet the DEC guidelines. These designs are what the budgets were built from by OBG. Much more stone is required than specified in those initial plans. Combined with the increase in rock prices, we have work to do on these projects to get them in the budget. NYS is adding the large rock required to their state bid list and we will learn those prices in the next couple of weeks. We are also exploring alternative solutions in both material and design for these areas.

I hope that we can award the bid for the Wickham Blvd and Featherly Drive Revetment projects at our March meeting. The engineers and the lowest bidder met again this week to review actual conditions, possible design changes and sources of rock. We expect this work will help reduce the deficit for this grant-funded project. Permitting has been resolved on both projects.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Dave McDowell
Dmcdowell@SodusPoint.info

We had our first county-wide emergency management meeting of 2020 on Tuesday here in the village. Most of the lakefront towns were represented as was the county departments, NYSDOT and NYS Emergency Management. We all believe we need to begin even sooner this year since the water is so high. As a result, we will declare a State of Emergency on Monday, February 10th. This will allow teams to go on private property and assess the existing sandbag walls and break walls. This will provide the information needed to plan the number of sandbags required to protect the exposed areas to at least 250’. It is likely that several areas will be protected as high as 251’. In areas where we experienced significant waves in the past, we will use grain bags filled with sand as they were proven to work very well along Edgemere Drive in 2019.

When the existing bags are inspected we plan to take elevation measurements of every break wall and existing sandbag wall. This will allow for more accurate temporary flood barriers to be constructed. Nine pumps are being ordered from NYSDHSES (NYS Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services) and delivered to Wayne County Highway. That highway department will service each pump and load test them to ensure we have working pumps. As the water level exceeds 247, we will coordinate with the Sheriff Dive Team to place the plugs as we deploy the pumps. We have also requested that 20,000 sandbags that NYS has stored be brought to the village during the month of February. We will place them in one of the parking areas and cover them until teams are here to place them. NYS is also ramping up to begin to fill sandbags in prisons around the state this year. That will be more efficient than transporting the inmates to a location to do that work.

The USACE forecast on January 31 calls for only another inch rise during February. While I hope this is the case, they have been routinely wrong over the last several years. The current monthly forecast (January) shows a 5% chance of the water reaching 248.5, almost 7 inches lower than 2019. The feeling at our meeting was to hope for the best and plan for the worst.

The REDI projects are continuing to move forward. The Engineer’s Report for each project is due next Friday and each project is on track to make that date. These reports are lengthy and must address many factors whether they are relevant to the project or not. These reports are the vehicle to get the funding contracts in place with NYS.

We have been notified by the DEC that they will issue permits for both the Featherly Drive and Wickham Blvd revetment projects. We expect to get the Wickham Blvdpermit next week and the other at the end of a 30 day comment period that is underway. When we opened the bids for these projects, all of them exceeded our grant balance. The engineer has worked with the lowest bidder and some design changes that have reduced the cost some. Unfortunately, we have more work to do. I hope to have an update on this for our February Board Meeting on the 20th.

I will be out of the office beginning at noon on the 11th and returning on the 20th. Feel free to reach out to the village office or to Deputy Mayor Kallusch.
Dave McDowell
Dmcdowell@SodusPoint.info

The lake has continued to rise. We have our emergency management meeting next week and I expect we will declare a state of emergency at that time. We need to get the existing sandbag walls reviewed for both height and sturdiness. That will help inform us regarding how many sandbags are needed. We have already put that request into the state. More actions will soon follow. Outflows are now at 9,000 cm/s, high but not high enough. I am meeting with John Katko’s office next week on the high water.

On the REDI front, Tom Hart was here this week to take core samples of possible sand sources for the Beach Dune. He picked a very cold day to be on the bay. We owe Krenzer Marine a big thank you as they put a boat into the water for Tom to use. Those samples are now at a lab in Syracuse to see what percentage is actually sand. Tom also got a note out to the members of the advisory group for that project. They will meet later next week.

For the stormwater project, the Engineering Report Draft will be reviewed next week. We have begun to talk with residents from which we will need easements for pump stations. The balance of the team is focused on moving the design to the 50% stage which will entail focusing on all the details and working with the topography. All the visuals from the open house are now on the web site. There is also a feedback/suggestion form for this project on the web site. That is a great way to provide input.

A preliminary discussion with DEC was held for both Lakestones and White Birch projects. Each has its own challenges and DEC was able to provide some direction. Visuals for this project are now up in the village hall and will be on the web site next week. All of the visuals so far represent current and past conditions. In both cases, we want to build the revetment where the 2010 waterline was. This is especially important at White Birch so that we can get the right repose on the bank to prevent further erosion. The engineer has made contact with the Lake Bluff residents responsible for that revetment that goes back 10-15 years for helpful information.

It appears we will get notified in advance of the FEMA representatives showing up in the village. They have provided a 2-week schedule and plan to continue to do that. We will share that information when we get notified they will be in the village.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Dave McDowell
Dmcdowell@SodusPoint.info


I apologize for the length of time between these updates. Life has a way of taking over from time to time.

As of 8 am this morning the outflows have been increased to 10,000 cm/s. This has occurred as the shipping season has ended. While this will help remove some water, it is also further evidence that our future is being controlled by the shipping industry. I expect we will see further increases in the next few days. As soon as we get some sustained cold, this will all stop for at least a few days and potentially longer. The other welcome news in my eyes is while we have had approximately 40% of our seasonal snowfall, it is now all in the lake and on its way out. Let’s hope for ‘normal’ or better yet, below-normal precipitation.

On January 18, in conjunction with the Rotary Winterfest and the Maceyville Woods Nature Preserve ribbon cutting, we will have an open house regarding the stormwater project. From 10-12 in the village hall, Costich Engineering will be on hand to display and discuss the preliminary plans for this very large project. The material will also be shared on the village web site following this event. This is an opportunity to learn more about the project and provide your input. With all that is occurring in the village that day, it seemed a great opportunity to meet with many people.

We will see more activity from the other 3 REDI projects in the first quarter.

The South Ontario Street drainage project has been delayed again, this time with an issue with one of the easements. We hope to have that resolved quickly.

Please continue to voice your water level concerns Senator Schumer, Senator Gillibrand, and Representative Katko. There may be an opportunity for them to do more shortly. It doesn’t hurt to include our NYS representatives as well. You can find contact information for all of them at https://soduspoint.info/state-and-federal-representatives/

If you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Dave McDowell
Dmcdowell@SodusPoint.info