$500,000 Phase 2 design under discussion for Buffalo Creek floodplain project

WEST SENECA, N.Y. (WKBW) — The next step to solving a problem West Seneca residents are no stranger to was reintroduced at a public meeting.

For decades, flooding from Buffalo Creek has created headaches.

A public meeting for Phase II of the Buffalo Creek Reconnection Project was held Friday evening.

For more than two years, Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper (BNW) and the city have been studying the creek, looking for opportunities to mitigate flooding.

With protecting your property in mind, 7 News’ Pheben Kassahun visited the meeting to hear what’s next in this mitigation process, as two neighbors share their experiences of living along the creek.

The $500,000 design was under discussion for the second design phase of the Buffalo Creek Floodplain Reconnection Project.

It is funded by the National Coastal Resilience Fund.

The BNW and the Town of West Seneca are the project sponsors.

“A floodplain is a natural solution to mitigate floodwaters by expanding the area that floodwater has to travel so it can flood the floodplain rather than neighboring homes,” said Katherine Winkler, senior program manager for the Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper program.

The presentation included BNW’s plan to create this nature-based solution.

The project site on Buffalo Creek in the city is upstream of the creek’s connection to the Buffalo River.

The region has experienced a long history of flood damage and impacts associated with rapid snowmelt, heavy rains and ice jams.

Since the 1920s, the town of West Seneca has experienced a population increase of nearly 500%, which has eliminated critical floodplains along waterways to store water during floods.

“Once you build it, it’s just a matter of lowering the banks, grading it and adding some vegetation that’s necessary to slow the flow of water but also to provide habitat, but it’s one of those projects that you don’t have to maintain,” Winkler added.

Neighbors were able to give their opinions on the design.

West Seneca Supervisor Gary Dickson was also present.

The burden has been on the West Seneca community and Buffalo Creek neighbors for years, especially Michael Machnica, who lives in the Lexington Green neighborhood.

“There was a major flood two years ago where we had ten inches of water in the back shed and several feet under our back porch,” Michael Machnica said. “It’s very encouraging to see that there was a good turnout here for people to voice their opinions.”

Evelyn Hicks said that during an ice jam flood, water overflows on both sides of the creek.

West Seneca resident Evelyn Hicks said, “It’s spread through the neighborhoods. People evacuated their homes and we experienced significant property damage due to these historic floods occurring more often. »

She told Kassahun that the project would improve the quality of life for her and her neighbors.

Hicks said, “In West Seneca, you can’t get from point A to point B without crossing a bridge. We have a lot of creeks in this area and there’s a lot of water.”

Construction will begin in 2025.

This will be followed by a one-year establishment period, just to ensure that everything grows and that there is no major soil leaching.

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