By DENISE A. RAYMO
MALONE — Between $20,000 and $30,000 has been spent so far to combat flooding in Fort Covington as an ice jam clogging the Salmon River grows larger.
But Franklin County officials say what's been spent so far falls short of the $165,000 minimum in damage claims that must accumulate before the situation is handed over to the State Emergency Management Office.
COVERED COSTS
Statewide, damage claims from this cold-weather period must climb to at least $24 million before it comes under federal jurisdiction.
Personal-property damage or lost contents do not count in the overall claim.
Only infrastructure costs and mitigation expenses incurred by the county, town and Fort Covington Fire Department and local and county highway departments are covered.
GROWING JAM
Emergency Services Director Ricky Provost said the ice jam has grown from 1,200 feet to 1,500 feet between the Center Street Bridge and the Salmon River Post 1418 American Legion on Water Street.
The shallow water and lack of river current has formed ice 10 inches thick.
Using dynamite to blast it apart is not an option, due to the proximity of homes, as well as environmental concerns, said Town Supervisor Pat Manchester.
And breaking the ice up into smaller pieces wouldn't help since slow water current and persistent cold temperatures would refreeze the chunks and compound the problem, said John Bashaw, deputy director of Emergency Services.
"We don't know what to do because this wasn't something we ever expected."
PUBLIC MEETING
Emergency Services and town officials have called for a public meeting 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Town Hall to tell residents about an emergency plan of action when a thaw occurs.
Provost said a representative from the State Department of Environmental Conservation will be there to explain homeowner eligibility for flood insurance and the need to process applications quickly because of a 30-day waiting period to activate coverage.
He said only two homes in the impacted area have active flood insurance.
A DEC contact told Provost it costs about $520 for a $50,000 damage-claim policy and roughly $930 for $100,000 in damage coverage. It would cost about $240 for $25,000 in personal-property coverage, he said.
LITTLE FLOW
A 150-foot section of river has opened up behind the American Legion building, and there is some water flow a few feet past the bridge.
But the rest of the Salmon River is frozen solid right to the St. Lawrence River, and the small, open parts are filling in with slushy ice as near-freezing temperatures continue.
"There is no solution we can think of for us to go and do anything," Bashaw said. "Mother Nature's really got us in a grip."
A smaller jam near the bridge at Bombay-Westville Road (County Road 4) at the intersection with Route 37 in Westville could cause a headache for Fort Covington when it lets loose and deposits its ice behind the town's existing jam.
As many as 15 homes were evacuated at the height of flooding last week.
The section of river impacted is where an estimated 48,000 cubic yards of silt and sediment washed and settled in July when an old dam was removed, releasing the material it held back and washing some of the river bank away with it.
The water in the area was about 7 feet deep before the dam removal, according to residents.
E-mail Denise A. Raymo at: draymo@pressrepublican.com
