New York State Governor Kathy Hochul has announced $21 million in new funding for flood protection projects across New York’s Southern Tier, including Olean, Binghamton, Elmira and Whitney Point.
The projects—part of the state’s Clean Water and Resiliency Agenda—will upgrade aging levees and flood walls built back in the 1940s and 1950s, according to a press release from Hochul's office.
Funded through the Environmental Bond Act of 2022, Hochul said the upgrades will be implemented by the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and should help communities “get ahead of the storm damage” and “prevent post-flood recovery costs.”
The City of Olean flood control project said the DEC is making improvements on the Allegheny River and Olean Creek in the city of Olean. The project will "stabilize a section of existing levee system, mitigate erosion, and improve access to the levee for regular DEC maintenance."
