Waters threaten pumping station that moves about 70 percent of community's sewage to treatment plant.
Sign in front window of Yankee Fly & Tackle Shop, Salina Street, Pulaski tells it all. The shop is owned by Dawn Rucando, who evacuated the guests she lodges during high season due to three feet of water -- and salmon -- in the basement. The shop is right at the end of the bridge over the Salmon River that rose so high the bridge had to be closed After heavy rains pushed the volume of the Salmon River to record levels, officials in Pulaski are scrambling to protect the highly-prized fishing waters from raw sewage.
Mayor Ernie Wheeler declared a state of emergency this afternoon, after the roaring waters caused the collapse of retaining walls along the river banks near the Route 11 bridge.
The walls aren’t just a popular spot among sportsmen who flock to the Oswego County village each fall for prime salmon fishing. They also provide a buffer for a pumping station that moves about 70 percent of the community’s sewage to a nearby treatment plant.
Wheeler said if the station were compromised, it could send up to 1.2 million gallons of raw sewage a day into the fishing waters. Friday’s collapse and subsequent erosion brought the river waters within 25 yards of the pumping station.
The river rose 12 feet today, after record rainfall earlier in the week.
» See related coverage of flooding in CNY
» Photo essay of the flooding in Pulaski and Altmar
Crews started in on a temporary fix Friday afternoon, bringing in boulders from a quarry in Adams to halt the erosion process.
But repairing the damage will take time and money, said Wheeler. The walls, built in the 1980s, have been on the municipal agenda for several years. Estimates before today’s floods came in around $750,000, and Wheeler had been reaching out to state and federal officials for funding assistance for the project.
“We were trying to be proactive,” Wheeler said. “It fell on deaf ears. Now I’m getting calls back.”