SOMERS, N.Y. - Faced with the need for an updated engineering assessment of Lake Lincolndale and its dam, a Somers property owners association is hoping to snag some outside funding to help it pay for the long-overdue project.
The all-volunteer group recently formed a nonprofit, which makes it eligible to apply for grants.
According to Thomasine Mastrantoni, chair of the Lake Lincolndale Property Owners Association’s (LLPOA) board of directors, fundraising – mainly done through the hosting of social activities and events -- has brought in $24,000 over the past three years.
However, costs attached to the dam engineering assessment and hazard classification study alone are estimated at $64,000.
The new nonprofit is known as Lake Lincolndale Land Preservation Association Inc. It’s run under LLPOA.’s auspices.
The LLLPA is seeking a $75,000 noncompetitive grant administered by Fordham University’s “Flourishing in Community” as part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program.
Fordham’s goal is to “empower frontline communities to lead efforts for environmental and climate justice” in the EPA’s Region 2, which includes New York and New Jersey.
If Lake Lincolndale gets the grant, it could use any funds left over after the engineering assessment and the original $24,000 it raised to maintain the manmade water body’s “health and ecosystem,” Mastrantoni said.
Grant applicants were required to conduct a vote to gauge the public’s interest in the project. The LLPOA reached out to folks in Region 2 and the town posted the flyer on its website.
Polling took place online and was concluded last Friday. Its results, not available at press time, aren’t “the only criteria for selection,” Fordham noted.
‘Delicate’ Balance
The lake’s health is supported through chemical and other interventions, for instance, its aeration system.
It’s 10 years old and in need of fixing, according to Michael O’Keefe, chair of the LLPOA’s Lake Management Committee and a director of the LLPOA and the nonprofit.
Repair and replacement costs are estimated to be between $15,000 and $22,000.
Aeration turns over the water column allowing the oxygen-depleted, or anoxic, bottom water to rise to the top. This helps keep phosphorus trapped in the sediment.
Limiting the presence of nutrients helps prevent the growth of algae, plant-like organisms.
Such “best practices” have reduced the need to use algaecides, O’Keefe said.
Advanced water quality testing equipment is also needed.
This is relevant because Lake Lincolndale – which began life as the heart of what was originally a summer community -- is still used for swimming, fishing, and other recreational activities.
More importantly, the Muscoot Reservoir – part of New York City’s drinking water supply – is fed by Lake Lincolndale through the Plum Brook drainage basin.
Local businesses and organizations have helped with environmental costs but there are also things like payroll (lifeguards, etc.) to consider, said O’Keefe, adding that “everything’s expensive now.”
An attempt to control weeds and invasive species by stocking the lake with sterile carp, while initially successful, eventually backfired.
The fish did too good of a job eating the weeds, which meant algae was free to have a field day. This threw off the lake’s nutrient balance.
The finned defenders eventually died off and were never replaced.
Plants absorb phosphorus and nitrogen, two nutrients that contribute to the growth of algae. This can lead to eutrophication, which is literally the transition of a water body to a marsh.
Side effects of eutrophication can include toxic cyanobacteria blooms, proliferation of weeds, dead zones, and fish kills.
“We are maintaining a beautiful lake, but it’s becoming more difficult to do so,” O’Keefe said, adding that Lake Lincolndale is among the last “swimmable” lakes in Westchester.
According to a 2023 Citizens Statewide Lake Assessment Program report -- sponsored by the state DEC and administered by the NYS Federation of Lake Associations -- the lake is eutrophic and has phosphorus levels nearly 10 times the standard threshold. Its clarity is impaired.
However, the frequency and severity of Harmful Algae Blooms (HAB) have gone down, possibly as a result of best maintenance practices such aeration and the annual winter drawdown.
(Of particular concern is the Eurasian milfoil, an invasive aquatic plant. The proliferation of lily pads has also prompted “treatment interventions.”)
“It’s a delicate ecological balance,” O’Keefe said.
In its grant application, the nonprofit pointed out that Lake Lincolndale functions as a “vital wildlife sanctuary” that provides habitats for local flora and fauna, such as migrating birds.
It has a walking area that not only benefits the hamlet’s residents but also “extends its ecological and recreational benefits to surrounding communities,” it said, citing Lake Lincolndale as “an inspiring model of environmental stewardship and collaborative community management.”
Lower Hazard Rating Sought
The 20-acre lake was created in 1929. Holding it back is a 22-foot-high, 580-foot-long steel-reinforced earthen dam.
What’s lending urgency to the funding effort is the fact that the dam -- and related structures – are currently “out of compliance” with state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) safety regulations “due to an overdue engineering assessment (EA),” the LLPOA said, adding that the “high cost” is the reason it’s late.
The DEC has classified the dam as a Class C (high hazard) and, as such, it has to be assessed every 10 years. That’s only because the agency is “lacking information,” and not because it thinks the dam is dangerous, O’Keefe said.
Based on a preliminary engineering study performed in 2006, the LLPOA believes that it should be a Class A (low hazard) or Class B (intermediate hazard) “at worst.”
The DEC has asked the LLPOA to provide data that supports a reduced hazard classification.
If the rating “can be lowered, the need to provide an EA every 10 years will be eliminated,” the association said.
If the LLPOA can’t meet its DEC obligations, “there is a risk of having the lake drained and dam removed,” it warned, adding that it was “imperative” that engineers are engaged to inspect the dam to determine its structural soundness and detail ways to mitigate flood risks should it ever fail.
Despite the expense, it would be worth it if the dam’s hazard rating was lowered.
“So, we said ‘Let’s just bite the bullet and buy us another 10 years’,” O’Keefe explained.
The DEC visually inspects the dam every two years. An engineering study would determine things such as “how sound” it is and if its spillway is “appropriately sized” for the amount of outgo potentially experienced during a 100-year storm.
The level of the lake -- which is 13 feet at its deepest point -- can be lowered in case of a major weather event as a “safeguard,” O’Keefe said.
Part of the assessment process involves “inundation” maps showing where the water would go in case the dam ever was breached.
A prior study showed that there are properties on Florence Drive that might be minimally impacted, O’Keefe said, noting that it also found flooding would not be a threat to life or cause serious property damage.
Roadblocks
Several years ago, O’Keefe approached then-Supervisor Rick Morrissey and the Town Board for help obtaining grants for the dam assessment.
“I proposed that, as a matter of public safety, it would be beneficial to the town to assist us,” he recalled.
The town provided the LLPOA with a grant writer and its engineering consultants offered advice as well.
If the grant had required that the LLPOA foot a percentage of the costs, the town voted to cover that, O’Keefe said.
However, none of that came to fruition because it turned out that only municipalities and nonprofits were eligible for DEC grants.
Many major engineering firms shy away from working with private groups such as the LLPOA because they lack money.
“Financial situations among lake associations are break-even at best; that’s just the nature of things,” O’Keefe explained.
Those who have responded to the LLPOA’s Requests for Proposals (RFPs) advised it to seek nonprofit status.
Another “roadblock” was the fact that -- at the time -- Westchester County did not have an emergency action plan for all the dams located within its borders.
“We’re part of the county and one of the requirements (for getting DEC grants) was that ALL of the county’s emergency action plans had to be in place,” he explained. Lake Lincolndale itself updates its own each year.
Having 501(3)(c) status has “opened up the world of grants for us now,” O’Keefe said.
Born and raised in Lake Lincolndale, he now lives in his grandparents’ circa-1937 bungalow.
Naturally, he is sentimentally attached to the unique lake community.
“It’s a shame we’re having to scramble,” he said of the funding fight, adding that folks should know that the “state just wants the data to prove that it’s (the dam’s) sound.”
If the LLPOA doesn’t get the EPA grant, it will “just seek opportunities elsewhere,” O’Keefe said.
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