Governor Kathy Hochul has announced the completion of a series of projects in the towns of Hamlin and Webster, to help make those communities more resilient in case of flooding along the Lake Ontario shoreline.
Those projects reflect more than $10 million in grant funding through a state program, and they include improvements to a wastewater collection system in Hamlin, and installing a flood wall and embankment stabilization work at Sandbar Park in Webster.
Although the historic flooding that hit shoreline communities several years ago has not reached that level lately, New York Secretary of State Robert Rodriguez said that it’s important to be ready when future storms hit the region.
He said severe weather is becoming more common, which is why the state developed the REDI (Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative) program.
“It’s really about preparing for the new reality, which is that this is happening,” said Rodriguez, “and it's happening all over the state, and it's happening with more frequency. So the best thing that we can do is prepare infrastructure that that will deal with the new conditions more resiliently and in a way that protects the communities and the investments that all the taxpayers and homeowners are making.”
Rodriguez and other state and local officials toured parts of Webster and Hamlin on Tuesday to talk about the infrastructure improvements.
Webster Town Supervisor Tom Flaherty said that the upgrades and improvements made to Sandbar Park will improve accessibility to the entire park, and in Hamlin, Town Supervisor Steve Baase said the Lakeshore Septic Sewer project will make that infrastructure stronger and more reliable when there is flooding.
