The Blind Brook watershed is a significant, natural drainage basin and environmental resource [1] located in Westchester County, New York. It occupies approximately 10.91 square miles [2] [3] or 6,980 acres falling largely within the Town of Rye. It spans the borders of New York and Connecticut. [4]
It is estimated that 96.7 percent of the Blind Brook watershed is in Westchester, New York and the remaining 3.3 percent is in Fairfield County, Connecticut. [4] The headwaters of the Blind Brook estuary begin in West Harrison, New York. The watershed terminates at the City of Rye, draining into Milton Harbor. [5] [6]
The area has historically been known for acute flooding. This phenomenon affects Harrison, Rye, Rye Town and Port Chester. In 1968, environmentalist Edith Gwynne Read called attention to the need for impacted communities to collaborate on proactive solutions to study the already saturated watershed. [7] While naturally occurring but heavy rainfalls trigger flooding, increased construction and creation of impervious surfaces during the 20th century are among the human impacts contributing to this phenomenon. [8] In 1980, Rye residents and politicians called out the deleterious effects of the creation of massive office parks; corporate campuses that were blamed for increasing flooding downstream included SUNY Purchase, General Foods and Texaco. [9]
Following the Nor'easter of 2007, another study was prepared in 2008 by the US Army Corps of Engineers. [10] That study claimed that the most catastrophic flooding in Rye had occurred in 1972 following Hurricane Agnes. [11]
Westchester County Airport was constructed in 1942, by the Air National Guard with a goal of protecting the Rye Lake Reservoir from war time sabotage and safeguarding New York's drinking water supply. However the runoff ultimately was diverted to the Blind Brook watershed. [12]
In 2011, plans to expand Westchester County Airport produced more scrutiny of the potentially adverse environmental impacts of development. An RFQ was issued with the stated goals of obtaining a "wetland delineation survey of the entire airport property" as well as re-validation of "previously mapped wetland boundaries" and areas of change.
Portions of the watershed are of great archaeological significance. The presence of Native Americans has been established many times through the discovery of relics and burial sites in the Blind Brook area in 1855 and 1867. [13]
In 1972, a construction vehicle preparing the site for building a new house unearthed skeletal remains. Archaeologists were brought in to further examine the burial site. Over 50 pottery sherds were found and assessed to be from the Clason's Point phase. [4] [14] The area is just a mile from another archaeologically significant site, Marshlands Conservancy.
The Blind Brook watershed has been recognized as an important area for flora and fauna. Portions that had eroded have been restored by Westchester County's Planning Department improving water quality and enhancing habitat for wildlife. [15]
Allegations that the waterway has been polluted by the City of Rye were made in 2015, by the non-profit organization Save the Sound. The group claims the municipality violated the EPA Clean Water Act. [16]
Expansion of the airport has raised concerns over adverse environmental impacts on the Blind Brook watershed and water quality. A community advocacy group called the Citizens for a Responsible County Airport count the Sierra Club Lower Hudson and Federated Conservationists of Westchester as supporters; they have raised safety concerns about the stormwater runoff. They are especially alarmed about PFASs discovered in groundwater tests between the Airport and the Kensico watershed. [17]
Remote access to the Bowman Dam which helps control flooding of the Blind Brook watershed was compromised in 2013 by an Iranian hacker. [11]
Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population of 1,004,456, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 55,344 (5.8%) from the 949,113 counted in 2010. Located in the Hudson Valley, Westchester covers an area of 450 square miles (1,200 km2), consisting of six cities, 19 towns, and 23 villages. Established in 1683, Westchester was named after the city of Chester, England. The county seat is the city of White Plains, while the most populous municipality in the county is the city of Yonkers, with 211,569 residents per the 2020 U.S. Census.
Rye Brook is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States, within the town of Rye. The population was 9,347 at the 2010 census.
Stormwater, also written storm water, is water that originates from precipitation (storm), including heavy rain and meltwater from hail and snow. Stormwater can soak into the soil (infiltrate) and become groundwater, be stored on depressed land surface in ponds and puddles, evaporate back into the atmosphere, or contribute to surface runoff. Most runoff is conveyed directly as surface water to nearby streams, rivers or other large water bodies without treatment.
Westchester County Airport is a county-owned airport in Westchester County, New York, three miles (6 km) northeast of downtown White Plains, with territory in the towns of North Castle and Harrison, New York, and village of Rye Brook, New York. It is sometimes referred to as the White Plains Airport and is so identified by the Official Airline Guide (OAG).
Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches 110 mi (180 km) from the East River in New York City, along the North Shore of Long Island, to Block Island Sound. A mix of freshwater from tributaries, and saltwater from the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island Sound is 21 mi (34 km) at its widest point and varies in depth from 65 to 230 feet.
Rye is a coastal city in Westchester County, New York, United States, located near New York City and within the New York metropolitan area. It is separate from the Town of Rye, which has more land area than the city. The City of Rye, formerly the Village of Rye, was part of the Town until it received its charter as a city in 1942, making it the youngest city in the State of New York. Its population density for its 5.85 square miles of land is roughly 2,729.76/sq mi.
Rye is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 49,613 at the 2020 United States census over 45,928 at the 2010 census. It is a separate municipality from the city of Rye. The Town of Rye contains two villages – Port Chester and Rye Brook – and the Rye Neck section of the village of Mamaroneck. Port Chester, Rye Brook and Rye Neck comprise the entire area of the town of Rye.
The Bronx River, approximately 24 miles (39 km) long, flows through southeast New York in the United States and drains an area of 38.4 square miles (99 km2). It is named after colonial settler Jonas Bronck. Besides the Hutchinson River, the Bronx River is the only fresh water river in New York City.
The Passaic River is a river, approximately 80 miles (130 km) long, in Northern New Jersey. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburban northern New Jersey, called the Great Swamp, draining much of the northern portion of the state through its tributaries.
Esopus Creek is a 65.4-mile-long (105.3 km) tributary of the Hudson River that drains the east-central Catskill Mountains in the U.S. state of New York. From its source at Winnisook Lake on the slopes of Slide Mountain, the Catskills' highest peak, it flows across Ulster County to the Hudson at Saugerties. Many tributaries extend its watershed into neighboring Greene County and a small portion of Delaware County. Midway along its length, it is impounded at Olive Bridge to create Ashokan Reservoir, the first of several built in the Catskills as part of New York City's water supply system. Its own flow is supplemented 13 miles (21 km) above the reservoir by the Shandaken Tunnel, which carries water from the city's Schoharie Reservoir into the creek.
New York State Route 120A (NY 120A) is a state highway in southern Westchester County, New York, in the United States. It serves as an alternate route to the southern half of NY 120 running along the New York–Connecticut state line. The southern terminus of the route is at NY 120 in Harrison. Its northern terminus is at NY 120 in North Castle. Most of the 8.55-mile (13.76 km) route straddles the New York–Connecticut state line, and part of the route is physically located in Connecticut. However, this part of the highway is not recognized by Connecticut as "Route 120A", and is considered to be part of NY 120A by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT).
The Kensico Reservoir is a reservoir spanning the towns of Armonk and Valhalla, New York, located 3 miles (5 km) north of White Plains. It was formed by the original earth and gravel Kensico Dam constructed in 1885, which impounded waters from the Bronx and Byram rivers. In 1917, a new masonry dam was completed, replacing the old dam and expanding the water supply by bringing water from the Catskill Mountains over a distance of more than 100 miles.
The Saw Mill River is a 23.5-mile (37.8 km) tributary of the Hudson River in Westchester County, New York, United States. It flows from an unnamed pond north of Chappaqua to Getty Square in Yonkers, where it empties into the Hudson as that river's southernmost tributary. It is the only major stream in southern Westchester County to drain into the Hudson instead of Long Island Sound. It drains an area of 26.5 square miles (69 km2), most of it heavily developed suburbia. For 16 miles (26 km), it flows parallel to the Saw Mill River Parkway, a commuter artery, an association that has been said to give the river an "identity crisis."
The Saugatuck Reservoir is a reservoir in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, that straddles the border between the towns of Redding, Weston, and Easton. Its completion is marked by the creation of the Samuel P. Senior dam of the Saugatuck River in January 1942, and provides water to several of the nearby towns. The reservoir is surrounded by the Centennial Watershed State Forest and a small section of the Trout Brook Valley State Park Reserve on the southeast end of the reservoir. The Saugatuck Reservoir utilizes an uncontrolled spillway adjacent to the Samuel P. Senior dam that effectively limits the maximum water level. There is also a concrete levee positioned on the southeastern side of the reservoir that prevents water from flooding Trout Brook Valley.
Mansfield Hollow Lake is a reservoir resting on the border of Windham County and Tolland County, Connecticut. The reservoir provides drinking water for Willimantic and helps control flooding in the 159-square-mile Thames River watershed. It was created by the Mansfield Hollow Dam and is entirely contained within Mansfield Hollow State Park and the Mansfield Hollow Wildlife Area. Designed and constructed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the dam substantially reduces flooding along the Quinebaug, Shetucket, and Thames rivers. Construction of the project began in 1949 with completion in 1952 at a cost of US$6.5 million. The Mansfield Hollow reservoir is located within the Shetucket River Watershed and is part of the Thames River Basin. Access to the site is available from US Route 6 and State Route 195. The damsite, covering an area of 25 acres (10 ha), was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.
Lake Erie Watershed is a major drainage catchment in northwestern Pennsylvania, United States, consisting of lands with direct runoff and sub-watersheds with waterways that flow into Lake Erie and Presque Isle Bay from Crawford and Erie counties, as well as from New York. The watershed is part of the Lake Erie Basin.
The Long Island Sound link is a proposed bridge or tunnel that would link Long Island, New York, to Westchester County or Connecticut, across Long Island Sound east of the Throgs Neck Bridge. The project has been studied and debated since the mid 20th century. The most recent proposal is a tunnel between Rye, New York, on the mainland and Oyster Bay on the island. Feasibility studies for bridges and tunnels have been conducted for numerous entry points, as listed in the chart below.
Tibbetts Brook, originally Tippett's Brook or Tibbitt's Brook, is a stream in the southern portion of mainland New York, flowing north to south from the city of Yonkers in Westchester County into the borough of the Bronx within New York City. Originally emptying into Spuyten Duyvil Creek as part of the Harlem River system, the stream is now partially subterranean, ending above ground at the south end of Van Cortlandt Lake within Van Cortlandt Park. There it proceeds into city sewers, draining into either the northern end of the Harlem River or the Wards Island Water Pollution Control Plant. The brook provides significant watershed to both Van Cortlandt Park at its south end and Tibbetts Brook Park at its north end. There have been modern proposals to daylight the southern portion of the brook back onto the surface.
Edith Mathews Gwynne Read was an American environmentalist who helped preserve open space and protect watercourses and wetlands in Westchester County, New York, especially Rye. Her leadership led to the creation of the Rye Nature Center and the Edith G. Read Wildlife Sanctuary that bears her name.
Marshlands Conservancy is a 147-acre nature preserve in the city of Rye, New York, that is fully owned and operated by Westchester County Parks. It has numerous wildlife habitats from ponds to creeks to a large meadow area, succession forest, freshwater wetlands and the only extensive salt marsh in Westchester. It borders Long Island Sound and can be entered via an easement on the historic Boston Post Road. It is one of 5 properties that together constitute the Boston Post Road Historic District. It has high archaeological sensitivity. The conservancy has also been designated an Important Bird Area.