Rensselaer County continues cleanup after flood damage

RENSSELAER COUNTY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Rensselaer County residents and town officials are still cleaning up after rainfalls caused rivers and creeks to overflow into banks and even homes. The situation has also raised concerns about the need to update the infrastructure- including clearing and creating more storm drains to help minimize flooding.

Robert Gray and Brenda Gray have been Castleton-on-the-Hudson residents for over 20 years.

“I’ve never seen it like this, and I’ve been here 22 years,” Robert Gray said. “I’ve never seen this creek overflow and have the water come out and come to our house.”

But that’s exactly what happened yesterday when the only storm drain by their home wasn’t able to handle all of the water that overflowed from a creek… yards away from the house. It washed away a chunk of their yard, a yard that the owners say they had a lot of pride in. Now, adding to the upset is how they will be able to afford the repairs, especially since they don’t have flood insurance as a part of their policy.

“And it’s not big enough to hold all this area… We’ve got the volunteer fire department here, and this is the only storm drain,” Brenda Gray said.

The couple said the water flowed from 6 a.m. until around 1 p.m. on Monday.

“I called DPW, and they came out and cleaned the debris out of the storm drain a couple of times, and that was it. And we did the rest,” Brenda Gray said. “It doesn’t seem like they care or do anything about it.”

“[The area] has been having problems with the drains,” Robert Gray said. “And we know how the infrastructure is going. We had a lot of water main breaks around here, a lot of the pipes are old and rusty, and it’s time for an upgrade.”

Town officials in Schodack acknowledged that this has been an issue, especially within the last year.

“We were expecting to have some problems, as I’m sure everyone else did as well,” Charles Peter, Town Supervisor for the Town of Schodack, said. “But the magnitude caught some of us by surprise.”

On Monday, one of the roads washed out due to a creek overflowing. The town is hoping to get some help from the state or even the federal government to help make repairs and updates to the infrastructure.

“I mean, it opens up a world of possibilities for both the municipalities and the residents to apply for and get some assistance in that regard,” Peter said.

In the meantime, the town will start planning ahead to ensure there is enough in the budget to handle these situations.

Officials are also advising homeowners to start preparing for the worst-case scenario before it happens and explore flood insurance options if possible.