City to Celebrate Completion of $1M Sluice Gate Project

As this hurricane season approaches, residents in some of the most flood-prone areas of Rye and Rye Brook can be less anxious knowing that the long-awaited sluice gate project has finally been completed.

The gate has been installed inside the Bowman Avenue Dam and is designed to lessen the flow of Blind Brook and create additional storage capacity at the dam. It will open and close based on water surface elevations, and will help with downstream flooding in the lower portion of Rye Brook and in the City of Rye.

The project was first conceived about four years ago and had to be planned in conjunction with the Village of Rye Brook and the Town of Harrison, entities that also surround Blind Brook.

ELQ Industries was awarded an approximately $1 million bid to build and install the gate and started that work in spring 2012. The City of Rye, Village of Rye Brook contributed to the cost of the dam. The local governments also received FEMA, state and county funds for the project.  

The City of Rye will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony at the gate on Bowman Avenue on Wednesday, June 19 at 8 p.m. with a reception to follow on site.  

Do you think the sluice gate will help protect your home during storms? Tells us your thoughts in the comments.