During the public portion of the June 11 Islip Town Board meeting, West Islip residents of Eaton Lane solemnly urged the town board to mend an ongoing flooding problem by updating the street’s draining systems and raising the road.

Three residents who live on Eaton Lane, a road on the South Shore of West Islip, shared that they have experienced extreme flooding on their street for years.

Eaton Lane resident Bryan Comerford explained that while most roads by the water in his area have drains to drain water into the Great South Bay or canal, Eaton Lane has a pump system.

“At the end of the block, it’s kind of like a large sump pump. There’s a pipe that goes from the drains to the large pipe in the street, pitches down to the end of the block, and pumps over the dock,” said Comerford. “What’s going on now is that the dock is very porous. The water is pouring through the dock; it’s inundating the pump. The pump has a high-water shutoff. Once it’s inundated, the pump turns off.”

Comerford went on to say that while he understands flooding occurring due to hurricanes, coastal storms, and nor’easters, Eaton Lane has flooding around 50 to 60 times a year, with flooding occurring even when there are no coastal flood warnings. Many residents, he claims, have even lost cars due to damages.

Fellow Eaton Lane resident Karen Berger shared how the flooding has impacted her family, including her daughter, who she described as multi-handicapped and non-ambulatory.

“On several occasions, she has missed important physical therapy because of the flood. We could not get her handicap van out of my driveway,” pleaded Berger. “I am angry that over 10 years of asking for mitigation to fix this flood issue, it seems to have fallen on deaf ears.”

Tom Connors implored the town to protect the residents from further property damage, urging the board to implement the solutions identified in the 2014 Suffolk County Hazard Mitigation Plan.

“For over a decade, this issue has been recognized, studied, and understood. In 2014, Suffolk County’s multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan was approved by FEMA, and Eaton Lane was specifically mentioned in this plan. In that plan, they laid out exactly what needs to be done: raise the town owned bulkhead, elevate the road 12 inches, and implement a closed drainage system. All of these falls squarely within areas managed by our town under your jurisdiction,” he said.
The Mitigation Action/Initiative, titled “Town of Islip - DPW Road Raising and Flood Mitigation – Phase I,” is outlined in Suffolk County Hazard Mitigation Plan to address hurricanes, nor’easters, severe storms, severe winter storms, and flooding. The initiative details how low-lying communities experience this periodic flooding onto the roadway due to the combination of the low elevation and high groundwater table, plus tidal cycles in combination with rainfall events.

Further, the presence of leeching basins and perforated pipe in the existing drainage system allows groundwater, which is influenced by tides, to enter the drainage system. The reduction in stormwater storage increases the magnitude and duration of roadway flooding.

The proposed mitigation action details implementing a closed-drainage system and elevation changes to the roadway, by raising the road one foot, which would allow residents and emergency and fire equipment access. The plan lists 10 specific locations in the town for the mitigation action to occur, including Eaton Lane in West Islip.

The 2014 study states that in the 10 locations alone, several millions of dollars in damages have been realized to residential properties, and the town already had to spend $450,000 in road repairs and dewatering operations.

This mitigation plan was labeled high priority, and the responsible organization is listed as Town of Islip deputy commissioner of public safety, Anthony J. Damico, though Damico no longer serves in that position, and the current commissioner is Anthony Prudenti.

Another mitigation action for Eaton Lane outlined in the plan is initiative TI-63 (NY Rising West Islip-2). Also designed to mitigate floods, hurricanes, nor’easters, and severe storms in the area, the initiative states, “Implement flood-proofing measures to electrical controls, and install backup power, for two drainage pump stations in the Sequams neighborhood (Eaton Lane and Sequams Center Lane).”

Since the residents brought their concerns to the attention of the board, the town has begun taking action to mend the ongoing flooding problem.

“Last week, the town met with members of the community, the Engineering Department, along with Department of Public Works, to discuss what has been done in the past, how we currently manage the flooding, and our plan for the future. Our area, like so many others worldwide, is struggling with these difficult issues precipitated by changing weather conditions,” shared a Town of Islip spokesperson. “Geographically, Eaton Lane sits lower than other waterfront communities in West Islip, which presents a unique challenge. Fortunately, there are a number of items that assist the community when there is moderate flooding, such as the huge stationary pump that turns on automatically, drainage throughout the area with special tide flex valves to help control the flooding, and regularly scheduled cleaning.”

“These items only work for moderate conditions.  Once we have a nor’easter or any kind of severe rain and/or flooding, the situation becomes more than difficult to control. Town officials recently met with the Army Corps of Engineers at the site. An assessment/study needs to be done to create a plan to attempt to resolve these issues during severe weather events. We appreciate the community’s engagement and support through this process.”