State will pick up Schoharie County's share for flood remediation | News

MIDDLEBURGH - When it started raining late last August, the water followed a natural funnel along Mill Valley Road in Middleburgh, quickly overwhelming the Line Creek.

It flowed over the banks, taking out major parts of the parallel roadway, pushing houses around like they were cardboard.

"The rock that's been installed to protect the road thus far is probably undersized for the slope of this stream, the size of the watershed and the flashiness (the terminology we use in hydrology) of the stream, of this watershed," said Peter Nichols, the Schoharie County Stream Program Manager. "So the rock will need to be bigger."

Over five million dollars in state money will be used to cover Schoharie County's share so that  waterways can be improved.

The idea is to shape and deepen water channels, making it much more likely that if anything approaching last year's rainfalls returns, the water will stand a much better chance of staying within the re-engineered banks, rather than on surrounding roadways, farm lands, and front yards.

"There are a lot of families on this road," said a farmer, Sandra Prokop. "If something happens to it, I can speak from experience, being isolated and have no way in or out is not really the greatest feeling you ever want to have." 

Work on the streams in the county is expected to begin next year.