BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Officials are keeping an eye on Cazenovia Creek where ice build-up can often lead to flooding in neighbor's yards and basements.
As of Thursday, heavy chunks of ice and debris blanket a section of Cazenovia Creek in South Buffalo. Don Poleto, Senior Engineer with the City of Buffalo's Department of Public Works, said his crews haven't seen any flooding so far.
"What I can tell you with 100% confidence is there's no more ice up in West Seneca or East Aurora, or Elma that's going to come down on top of this right now. So, the last remaining run of ice is between the Cazenovia Street bridge and the Buffalo River right now," Poleto said.
As of Thursday afternoon, Poleto said the creek is at about seven feet and the flood stage starts at 10 feet. But he said crews are not letting their guard down because the jams could move quickly without warning.
"When that happens the stage the water level behind the gym fluctuates very quickly and begins to overtop banks," he explained.
Thankfully, the weather has been on their side.
"Temperatures above freezing really work in our work in our favor because the icefield doesn't get a chance to solidify," Poleto said.
He said his crews are in constant communication with other local officials, like West Seneca Supervisor Gary Dickson, who's also keeping a close eye on the creek.
"The water level isn't very high. The ice is not too thick so we're constantly optimistic that we're not going to see any major flooding," Dickson said.
He said the ice field does cause an issue with the town's sanitary sewer system which is why you may notice backup pumps in some neighborhoods.
"And then the water works its way into the sanitary sewer system and they can cause backups in people's basements. In particular, the neighborhood bond Southgate Plaza is always an issue," he explained.
Dickson said his crews are at the ready should conditions change.
"We have a kind of a script that we follow and we're ready in case something happens. The highway department has sandbags ready and additional pumps," he said.
