Story on the town of Seneca Lake that was flooded in 2000
Freak thunderstorm damaged roads, bridges and dams in Sussex
Sunday, August 15, 2004
BY JIM LOCKWOOD
Star-Ledger Staff
Heavy rain from the tail ends of hurricanes don't bother Ray Scally of Sparta too much, just as long as the storm keeps moving.
That's because the Seneca Lake resident knows firsthand how extreme weather can cause devastation in a flash.
It was four years ago last Thursday that a freak thunderstorm stalled over Sparta Mountain, dumping 16 inches of rain in six hours.
The deluge wiped out or damaged many roads, bridges and dams in the Sparta and Jefferson areas, causing tens of millions of dollars in damages.
For many, the flood now seems like a distant memory, as most of the destruction has been repaired.
But in a few spots, such as Seneca Lake, residents are reminded of the flood every day, just by looking out their windows at the field of weeds that once was their lake.
Seneca Lake's dam was one of 30 that were damaged in the flood, and one of four that were completely breached. When the earthen embankment gave way, a 50-foot-wide wall of water swept downstream.
"It knocked trees down like toothpicks," Scally said of the water. "It was only in a matter of an hour, and the lake was gone."
Since the flood, the private Seneca Lake Association has been working on rebuilding the dam. Residents want it back, as the drained lake represented a four-season loss, as well as a reduction in property values. Now, construction of a new concrete dam is under way and is nearing completion.
"We miss the lake in winter and summer," Scally said. "We missed it for four years, but we should have the lake back to normal by next summer."
Meanwhile, in a different part of Sparta, Randy Earl's landscaped property downstream from the Sparta Glen on Glen Road became a mud bog in the flood of 2000, when the normally babbling Glen Brook became a raging river that deposited tons of mud, rock and trees in his back yard.
Since then, tedious painstaking repairs have included rebuilding the meandering stream's walls rock by rock with small boulders. There is more to do, but the work is nearing completion.
"By this time next year, everything will be done," Earl said.
Most of the flood damage to public roads and bridges also has been repaired, said Sussex County Engineer Eric Grove.
Glen Road, also known as Sussex County Route 620, bore the brunt of the damage and had to be closed for three years.
That damage was anything but ordinary, as the storm uprooted thousands of trees like twigs, washed away an entire side of Sparta Mountain and left gaping holes in the roadbed that bottomed out 100 feet down.
Glen Road finally reopened to traffic in November, after completion of a $7 million reconstruction project that involved putting in thousands of tons of rock to create a mile-long retaining wall.
There also were about 80 bridges that were effected in some way by the flood, Grove said. Of those, there are only two left that were temporarily fixed but still need permanent repairs, Grove said.
Permanently replacing those two bridges, which are in Sparta on Main Street near Glen Road and atop the mountain on Glen Road near Arapaho Trail, also should be completed next year, Grove said.
Permanent repairs to three other bridges were completed in the past month, including Station Road and Morris Lake Road bridges in Sparta, and Lake Drive bridge in Byram, Grove said.
Despite the potential for heavy rain from Bonnie and Charley, residents and officials alike are not worrying about another catastrophe because the flood of four years ago was not from a hurricane, but rather from a once-in-1,000-year flash thunderstorm.
"That was an anomaly, a unique event in meteorological terms," Grove said.
"There's nothing you can do about," Earl said. "Now, if they (forecasters) say 10 inches of rain is coming, I might be worried."
Scally also said Seneca Lake's dam will be bigger and stronger than the old one and better prepared for torrential downpours.
Still, they know Mother Nature can be fickle -- and furious.
"It's unbelievable -- the power, the tremendous force of water," Scally said.
Sunday, August 15, 2004
BY JIM LOCKWOOD
Star-Ledger Staff
Heavy rain from the tail ends of hurricanes don't bother Ray Scally of Sparta too much, just as long as the storm keeps moving.
That's because the Seneca Lake resident knows firsthand how extreme weather can cause devastation in a flash.
It was four years ago last Thursday that a freak thunderstorm stalled over Sparta Mountain, dumping 16 inches of rain in six hours.
The deluge wiped out or damaged many roads, bridges and dams in the Sparta and Jefferson areas, causing tens of millions of dollars in damages.
For many, the flood now seems like a distant memory, as most of the destruction has been repaired.
But in a few spots, such as Seneca Lake, residents are reminded of the flood every day, just by looking out their windows at the field of weeds that once was their lake.
Seneca Lake's dam was one of 30 that were damaged in the flood, and one of four that were completely breached. When the earthen embankment gave way, a 50-foot-wide wall of water swept downstream.
"It knocked trees down like toothpicks," Scally said of the water. "It was only in a matter of an hour, and the lake was gone."
Since the flood, the private Seneca Lake Association has been working on rebuilding the dam. Residents want it back, as the drained lake represented a four-season loss, as well as a reduction in property values. Now, construction of a new concrete dam is under way and is nearing completion.
"We miss the lake in winter and summer," Scally said. "We missed it for four years, but we should have the lake back to normal by next summer."
Meanwhile, in a different part of Sparta, Randy Earl's landscaped property downstream from the Sparta Glen on Glen Road became a mud bog in the flood of 2000, when the normally babbling Glen Brook became a raging river that deposited tons of mud, rock and trees in his back yard.
Since then, tedious painstaking repairs have included rebuilding the meandering stream's walls rock by rock with small boulders. There is more to do, but the work is nearing completion.
"By this time next year, everything will be done," Earl said.
Most of the flood damage to public roads and bridges also has been repaired, said Sussex County Engineer Eric Grove.
Glen Road, also known as Sussex County Route 620, bore the brunt of the damage and had to be closed for three years.
That damage was anything but ordinary, as the storm uprooted thousands of trees like twigs, washed away an entire side of Sparta Mountain and left gaping holes in the roadbed that bottomed out 100 feet down.
Glen Road finally reopened to traffic in November, after completion of a $7 million reconstruction project that involved putting in thousands of tons of rock to create a mile-long retaining wall.
There also were about 80 bridges that were effected in some way by the flood, Grove said. Of those, there are only two left that were temporarily fixed but still need permanent repairs, Grove said.
Permanently replacing those two bridges, which are in Sparta on Main Street near Glen Road and atop the mountain on Glen Road near Arapaho Trail, also should be completed next year, Grove said.
Permanent repairs to three other bridges were completed in the past month, including Station Road and Morris Lake Road bridges in Sparta, and Lake Drive bridge in Byram, Grove said.
Despite the potential for heavy rain from Bonnie and Charley, residents and officials alike are not worrying about another catastrophe because the flood of four years ago was not from a hurricane, but rather from a once-in-1,000-year flash thunderstorm.
"That was an anomaly, a unique event in meteorological terms," Grove said.
"There's nothing you can do about," Earl said. "Now, if they (forecasters) say 10 inches of rain is coming, I might be worried."
Scally also said Seneca Lake's dam will be bigger and stronger than the old one and better prepared for torrential downpours.
Still, they know Mother Nature can be fickle -- and furious.
"It's unbelievable -- the power, the tremendous force of water," Scally said.
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