Guilderland

The town of Guilderland is getting $2.7 million from the state to help mitigate the flooding that plagues McKownville neighborhood homes and a stretch of Western Avenue in front of Stuyvesant Plaza after major downpours.

The issue has been a problem for 20 years. But the town cannot afford the estimated $6.7 million in upgrades needed to ease the flow of storm water that flows off of roughly 850 acres of heavily developed land in the McKownville area — including Crossgates Mall, Stuyvesant Plaza and the Thruway — toward Western Avenue and the Krumkill.

During really bad storms, yards and basements of hundreds of homes in McKownville and the surrounding area flood, and Western Turnpike in front of Stuyvesant Plaza becomes impassable due to high waters.

The severity of the issue is magnified because that stretch of road is one of the busiest in the Capital Region, and any flooding there causes major traffic flow problems.

State Sen. George Amedore and Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy announced Thursday during a news conference at Guilderland Town Hall that they had arranged for the town to get the $2.7 million grant to make improvements to the storm water system to help prevent future flooding.

"This is a public safety issue, and it's a quality of life issue," Amedore said. "This is going to help mitigate a major problem for our residents. There's no reason why we cannot make this much-needed investment."

Amedore and Fahy appeared with outgoing Guilderland Supervisor Ken Runion, who said that the town cannot afford to fix the problem on its own with a municipal tax base of just $800,000. The town had previously funded a 2010 study of the flooding problem by Delaware Engineering of Albany using a $500,000 state grant, some of which is left over for the new improvements, which will include new water detention basins, sump pump connections and piping for moving storm water to the Krumkill without it backing up.

Currently water passes under Western Avenue to the Krumkill through a 3-foot by 4-foot box culvert at the Stuyvesant Plaza entrance.

Fahy said the town would still have to fill out an application to get the money, which would come from the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York.

"This is overdue," Fahy said. "These floods impact not only the residents but they impede the economic vitality of the neighborhood and this shopping district."

The improvements will be completed over the next two years, although the town has yet to hire a contractor for the work.

"It will take some time to complete," Runion said.

lrulison@timesunion.com • 518-454-5504 • @larryrulison