In the aftermath of the April 2007 Nor’easter that devastated parts of the Sound Shore of Westchester, County Executive Andy Spano committed to a five-year $10 million per year capital projects budget to help fund local projects and the appointment of a Flood Action Task Force.

Now Spano has announced that projects in Mamaroneck, Scarsdale, Rye City/Rye Brook and Tarrytown will get county funds to remediate flooding. This is in addition to funds from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers obtained by Rep. Nita Lowey to focus on the intersection of the Mamaroneck and Sheldrake rivers.

Other projects submitted by local governments are still in review. The Flood Action Task Force, comprised of representatives from the county and local government as well as the business community, has developed a fact sheet of the county’s $50 million capital program and a pre-application form for municipalities interested in participating in the program. For more information, contact the Department of Planning at (914) 995-4400. Meanwhile, the county is also studying what it can do on its own property that can help remediate flooding downstream.

Flooding is a countywide problem. In April 2007, it was the Sound Shore hit. In 1999, parts of Northern Westchester were devastated by Tropical Storm Floyd.

To help find countywide solutions, Spano hosted a Flood Summit in June of 2007 that brought together officials from all cities, towns and villages to create momentum for change. At the summit, an overview of the major causes of flooding, including a historic perspective of the problem, was presented by officials from the County and both State and Federal agencies.

In 2007, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) completed updating the Flood Insurance Rate Maps for the county. To find out if your property is in a floodplain, go to the county interactive maps. Enter your address and click "Go." Select "Layers," click the "plus" sign in front of “Environmental Features” and then check the grey check box in front of "Floodplains."