Freeport to install more flood fighting measures in 2024

Freeport installed six catch basins with automatic electric water pumps on one of its narrow fingerlike peninsulas about three years ago to combat flooding and is planning to put in six more next year, according to village officials.

Mayor Robert Kennedy said the overall plan is to install 32 catch basins, at a cost of about $250,000 each, after the first series of six that the village initially installed on Hudson and Guy Lombardo avenues have helped clear waterlogged streets after storms.

Work to install the six new catch basins in 2024 will take about four months to complete, according to Kennedy. 

Village officials said funding for the project will be provided through a mix of the grants and the municipality's annual budget.

Hudson Avenue resident Peter Groner said storms like the one Monday caused a lot more problems before the village installed a pumping system on the street.

As the water rose Monday, about six inches flooded into the street and sidewalk but didn't creep onto the lawn of his property, he said.

“It took care of all the rain this morning,” Groner said of the pumping system. “Up until the tide breached the bulkhead it was working perfectly.”

The Freeport resident's property has a wooden terrace that acts as a buffer for his home's front lawn.

“We would get water sometimes up to and sometimes over that wood,” Groner said Monday, describing flooding scenarios before the pumping system's installation. “Right now it’s just on the sidewalk, it’s not even touching that wood.”

Last week, Kennedy and village engineer Robert Fisenne stood above a catch basin on a sidewalk at Hudson Avenue during a Newsday interview to explain how the system works.

Rainwater on the street flows into storm drains that flow into the catch basin, which is an underground pit beneath the sidewalk that is covered by a metal hatch. Each catch basin contains two 25-horsepower electric pumps.

“The canal is right there, 50 feet away,” Kennedy said, pointing east toward a marina. “These streets always flooded. Every astronomical high tide this street would flood.”

A check valve ensures that the water flows outward only so that when high tide comes, salt water doesn’t come in. While gravity handles normal water flow, when it rains the drainage can get backed up, Kennedy said. That’s where the pumps come in.

“If it’s raining out, this will fill up with fresh water, the two pumps will come on and pump the water around the check valve and out into the bay,” Kennedy said.

Green plastic balls float in the water next to the two pumps in each catch basin. When the collected water starts to rise, the floats detect the change in water level and send a signal to an electronic control panel mounted on a pole about 10 feet away. That control panel turns on the pumps automatically.

Electric blades shred detritus to prevent clogs. If the power goes out, the water still only flows out, even without the pumps.

“Because we have the check valve, water can still go out if there’s no power,” Fisenne said.

Though there was no rain last week as the two showcased the system, the pumps turned on when the water level got high. Kennedy said that was due to ground water seepage. Then after a few minutes, the water level in the catch basin fell to about one foot.

The system has its limits, according to the mayor.

“This is to eliminate nuisance flooding,” Kennedy said. “All bets are off if you get a Nor’easter, Superstorm Sandy — if water comes over the bulkhead there’s nothing you can do about it.”