By Emmett Ansari
Imagine water rushing from all directions, soaking the town, streams swelling until they spilled into paths and roads, water finding itself in houses and sloshing at the sides. Floods could change our town severely, and this description is not far from a reality in Irvington, which has an extreme risk of flooding.
Slightly over fifteen years ago, Irvington’s government contracted Hahn Engineering to help assess the village’s infrastructure. They found several examples where branches or sediment accumulation interfered with pipes. Hahn Engineering suggested that each homeowner cares for their section of the drainage system, to prevent drainage blockages.
In 2022, Irvington received money to improve drainage and to help reduce potential flood damage. This project aims to address flooding problems in several areas around the town.
Implementing flood mitigation is necessary because of the danger that floods pose in Irvington. The New York Times published a graphic that predicted that Irvington, among neighboring communities in the area, could see a loss of 1,000 homes from flooding by 2040. The website First Street, which publishes financial information based on different natural phenomena related to climate change, recorded the flood susceptibility for Irvington’s roads. They determined that Irvington was at a high flood risk. First Street also determined 227 properties to be under threat from floods.
Freshman Harrison Lorenz said there would be an “extensive risk of flooding, especially where the restaurant section is, possibly harming many small businesses.”
Due to this information, it is clear that Irvington’s flood defense efforts are necessary because the danger of a massive flood persists. Floods are not just an issue of the past or an issue for the far future; they are an imminent threat in the present. Storms will be increasingly effective in the coming years, and Irvington needs to face the issue.
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