Infrastructure like storm drains and catchment basins are old in many of our Adirondack small communities. This is true in the hamlet of Essex where run-off sediments and winter road sand go into a storm sewer and out into Lake Champlain at the Essex Shipyard Marina. In the last 7-8 years, a pile of sediment amounting to some 5-7 cubic yards has collected in a boat slip making rental impossible and possibly impairing water quality.
Note the size of the old catchment basin compared to the new pre-cast basin being installed (below).
The road is a county road, and the county does not have a vacuum truck to clean storm drain catchments. Fred Buck, Superintendent of the Department of Public Works in Essex County, is coordinating the purchase and installation of a large catchment basin, one that can be cleaned out periodically with a backhoe. BRASS is coordinating the lake sediment removal and permits along with cooperation and in-kind services from the marina owner.