Saratoga County officials estimate $1.5 million in infrastructure damage from Irene

PHOTOGRAPHER: Stephen Williams

Saratoga County sustained at least $1.5 million in public infrastructure damage from Hurricane Irene, including culvert and road washouts and damage to Waterford’s sewage treatment plant, officials said today.

Damage from the Aug. 28 storm, while significantly less than in the Schoharie Valley and around Amsterdam, was enough to get the county added over the weekend to those approved for federal disaster aid. The disaster declaration now covers reimbursement of public infrastructure damages in 28 counties, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office.

Saratoga County residents with flood-damaged homes already qualify for Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance.

County Emergency Services Director Paul Lent said Waterford saw flood-related damage to its sewage treatment plant, to the visitors’ center at Waterford harbor, and to roads close to the Mohawk River.

In Providence, a road near Lake Nancy had a bridge and culvert wash out, at an estimated cost of as much as $300,000, Lent said.

Parts of three county roads had to be closed because of mudslides or water undermining the road. Mudslide damage on County Route 8 near the Conklingville Dam in Hadley and water damage on West Mountain Road in Day has been repaired, but a section of County Route 75 in Stillwater won’t be ready to reopen for at least two more weeks.

A culvert carrying Route 75 over the Schuyler Creek was undermined by the storm’s surge, causing the road to sink. “This will be a complete replacement project,” said County Public Works Commissioner Joseph C. Ritchey.

County public works laborers, coming in on a Sunday, worked from 7 a.m. to midnight during the storm, clearing limbs, branches or debris from 43 roads, Ritchey said.

County Fire Coordinator Ed Tremblay said that after the storm, 16 volunteer fire companies came together to pump out 168 flooded homes in Waterford. Local volunteer firefighters have since gone to help in Schoharie County and other harder-hit communities, he said.