Intense Rainfall Tests Scarsdale's Storm Water Management System
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How did the Village's new storm water management system perform during the heavy rainstorms on Tuesday December 9th? We asked Village Manager Al Gatta and Department of Public Works Supervisor Benedict Salanitro for a report on areas that have flooded in the past and here is what they shared:
From Village Manager Al Gatta:
"The first issue was the amount of rainfall. The Public Works Department reports that 3.16" of rain fell with great intensity over a 12-hour period, not the 24-hour period which was the design standard for the improvement projects. Also the Village-wide drainage system was still retaining water from rainstorms on the previous Saturday that decreased the amount the system could hold on Tuesday.
The improvements at George Field Park performed as expected with a small amount of flooding on the north end, across Eton Road. The rain garden at Cooper Green, opposite the public safety building also performed as designed and there were no problems.
However, at Brewster Road we had flooding in the high school parking lots but the road was open. We believe the flooding was caused by excess water in the watercourse from the rains on Saturday and the rain intensity on Tuesday. The 3.16" of rainfall entered the system too quickly, causing the parking areas to flood.
The Hutchinson River area had little flooding, but had some discharge from the sanitary sewers. We are looking at this issue with the County and the Village may have to undertake an Inflow/infiltration Study to determine the amount of rainwater that is getting into the sanitary sewer system and causing the backups. We are also working on a project with New Rochelle and the County to determine if the incidence of flooding can be reduced in the Hutchinson River area."
From Benedict Salanitro, Supervisor of the Department of Public Works:
"The very intense rainfall accumulation in a relatively short period of time (3.16 inches in 12 hours- as reported by Westchester County in Mamaroneck), was a perfect recipe for flooding and nuisance water to accumulate in low lying areas. This intensity together with about an inch of rain accumulation from the previous Saturday, (into part of Sunday) caused excessive saturation of the ground and the water was able to sheet flow off of the lawn( mimicking blacktop surface runoff) with greater velocity than normal.
The areas around Brewster Road (High School) was one of the first areas that experienced water related issues around 10 am, because the flows were so high. Many folks were not expecting to see the type of flooding that occurred and expressed concerns about the drainage system not being able to handle the rain, but in fact the conditions that we experienced was in-line with the expectations based upon the actually rainfall and duration.
The time that it took for these areas to recede was also an indicator for us of how well the system does in fact work, given the limitations of the amount of rainfall. All in all, while there were many areas of concern, understanding the storm characteristics puts everything into perspective."
Asked about homes near Cayuga Pond in Heathcote, Salanitro added, "There was flooding on some properties along Seneca and Cayuga that surprised some people, but we believe that the improvements worked as expected."
Storm Inundates the 'Dale
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We rode around town during the rainstorm on Tuesday December 9 to see if the new storm water improvement projects were successful at alleviating flooding.
Our first stop was George Field where the impact of the work was dramatic. The Village constructed a 7-acre dry retention pond at George Field, which is the largest pond in the county. The field was filled up and looked more like a lake than a green, and appeared to be doing its job of retaining water for slow release downstream. However, across the street, a home on Oxford Road still had considerable flooding in its sideyard.
At the library, library pond had expanded and the benches that usually border the pond were actually in the 
water. We don't know if library pond was intended for additional water retention.
At the high school there was water water everywhere. The parking lots were deluged, the stream that runs along the parking lot was totally submerged and the drinking lot was underwater.
On Thursday, parents with high school students received an email that said:
"The Brewster Road and Wayside Lane entrances to the pick-up/drop-off circle are closed. We ask all parents who normally use the circle for pick-up to instead pick up their children on Post Road. All students will be instructed to go to Post Road to be picked up. We anticipate continued problems with flooding, as rain is forecast through tomorrow night. Therefore, we encourage all students to use buses and to carpool as much as possible. Parking spots are in short supply as the gravel lot and the lot at Harcourt Road have already flooded."
Hopefully when the storm water management project now under construction in Harcourt Woods is completed, the high school will be spared from flooding.
Did you have flooding in your area? If so, send your photos to scarsdalecomments@gmail.com and post your comments below.
The Giving Season: Take Our Survey
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It's that time of year again. Hanukkah and Christmas are just weeks away and you may be thinking about finding the perfect gifts, tipping those who help you all year round or how you will celebrate the holiday season.
December is also a traditional time to make annual donations to your favorite organizations and charities.
But how much do you give and to whom? We have put together a short survey about giving and hope you will take a minute to answer these 6 questions. Responses are anonymous! Once we tabulate the results we will let you know about your neighbors "giving" behavior ....
It will just take a minute. Click here to let us know what you give:
Architect Paul Katz Passes Away at Age 57
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Renowned architect and Scarsdale resident Paul Katz passed away on November 20, 2014 at the age of 57. He was the President and Managing Principal at Kohn, Pederson Fox (KPF), a global architectural firm with 670 employees. Katz died of septic shock at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital where he was being treated for cancer. Funeral services for him were held at Temple Israel Center in White Plains.
Katz lived in Greenacres with his wife Ziva Freiman and children Jonathan and Hannah. Jonathan is now studying at Oxford and Hannah is a student at the Maryland Institute College of Art.
Katz joined KPF in 1984 and is credited with managing the design and construction of some of the largest buildings in the world. Among them are the Shanghai World Financial Center with 101 stories and the 118-story International Commerce Center in Hong Kong. He developed the entertainment and conference center Earls Court in London, refurbished and expanded Covent Garden in London and worked on the master plan for Hudson Yards on the west side of Manhattan which is now being built.
Katz was a native of Cape Town, South Africa where his parents worked for a family-owned construction company, his father as an accountant and his mother running its human resources department. He studied architecture at the University of Cape Town and later at the Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, where he received a bachelor of architecture degree in 1982. It was there that he met Ziva Freiman, a fellow South African, who was also studying architecture at the institute. Katz earned a master's degree in architecture at Princeton.
He was also a competitive chess player and played last summer in an exhibition match in the south of France. Donations can be sent to the KPF Foundation for an academic scholarship in his name.
Scarsdale Bowl Committee Seeks Nominations
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The Scarsdale Bowl Committee invites the community to nominate Scarsdale residents who would be worthy candidates for consideration as the honoree for the 2015 Scarsdale Bowl.
Nominations may be submitted to the Committee electronically on a confidential basis using the on-line form accessible on the Scarsdale Foundation website or by e-mailing the Committee at scarbowl@gmail.com.
