MIDDLEPORT — New York State workers are plugging away at fixing seepages along the earthen embankments of the Erie Canal in the town of Royalton.
The state Canal Corporation announced on Nov. 7 that work began to “address persistent seepage” along a 1-mile stretch of the canal between Peet Street and Wruck Road.
According to Canal Corporation spokesperson Shane Mahar, this project is the first of its kind to be done under the agency’s Earthen Embankment Integrity Program, which will use “one pass” trenching technology to solidify the canal’s earthen embankments.
“As it digs into the earth and creates the trench, it immediately backfills that with this slurry material mixing together with the existing soil,” Mahar said. “Once it solidifies, it forms a solid barrier (like) a concrete foundation in your house.”
Mahar explained that over decades of “deferred maintenance” by the state, roots from trees and other vegetation growing along the embankments have played a significant part in causing seeps in the ground along that stretch of the canal.
“Embankments along the canal were never intended to have trees and vegetation growing on them,” Mahar said. “That’s not how they were designed and that doesn’t follow dam safety practices set by the Army Corps of Engineers and others.”
The seeds of the program were planted around 2017 when New York Power Authority assumed responsibility for the Canal Corporation.
“When NYPA took over the Canal Corp. jurisdiction, there was an engineering assessment done which included the earthen embankments and the dams. There was a decision made that the infrastructure needed to be repaired and brought up to today’s standards,” Mahar said.
When excess vegetation was cleared along the embankments on that section of the canal in 2021, an additional 14 seeps and a sinkhole were discovered on top of a previous three seeps that dated back more than 20 years.
A clay wall was installed in the embankments and water levels were reduced in that stretch of the canal at that time as a temporary solution to help further mitigate the seepage.
This time around, the state is working with Hohl Industrial Services, Inc. of Tonawanda and DeWind of Zeeland, Michigan, to install a more permanent wall into the full depth of the embankment, in places 30 feet deep to bedrock level.
According to Canal Corporation, the project will span a six-week period. For the, the Erie Canalway Trail and Empire State Trail are detoured in the area. The trail is expected to reopen in the spring of 2024 after its surface is fully restored.
“As stewards of the historic Erie Canal, it is incumbent upon us to ensure that the waterway’s infrastructure continues to operate safely for generations to come,” Canal Corporation Director Brian Stratton said. “This project in Royalton and future investments in the earthen embankments that carry the canal high above surrounding communities are integral components of maintaining the longevity of the canal system.”