Officials in the town of Greece are keeping a close eye on Lake Ontario water levels, as the combination of high water and high winds could produce devastation like there was in 2017.
This year, there have been many more instances of high winds than two years ago, according to Greece Town Supervisor Bill Reilich.
“If they come from the south, that is flooding on our pond residents, and if they come from the north-northeast, it's flooding along the lakeshore,” Reilich said. “We have a little over a thousand residents that live on the water in one of those two venues. So it's very concerning, we're watching it, we're monitoring the levels daily."
Reilich says they’re responding now by using new shut-off valves installed on storm drains after the 2017 flooding and regularly inspecting the newly constructed berm at the end of Round Pond to help contain the water.
“We also started sandbagging Sunday night at 11 o'clock,” Reilich indicated. “And by noon on Monday we had about four thousand sandbags on hand. And in about three hours time, we were going through at the rate of about a thousand an hour."
Reilich says there are regular updates on where to get sandbags and the latest on the water levels at his Town Supervisor Facebook page.
“We're gearing up for the worst, and hoping for the best. But once again, we'll be prepared to help the residents as much as we can," he said.