Flooding in Brooklyn Raises Questions about Sewer Systems

I live in Brooklyn. Dyker Heights to be exact. I am fortunate in that my residence is situated half way up a fairly mild slope midway between 'Bay Ridge' (which got royally windswept by the rainstorm) and Bensonhurst, (which could actually do with being royally windswept as it's such a dump). Sorry Bensonhurstians.

I used to live one avenue down this slope which put me right at the low point. Well you know the old saying that 's--- rolls down hill?' Well, the same goes for water, of course, and believe me when I tell you that even with less severe outbreaks the sewers at certain points (like my previous residence) in Brooklyn would get flooded very easily.

There are many hazardous results from this, of course. One being that some of the aforementioned 's---' that ran down the hill mingles with the rainwater and all the other unmentionables, waste-products etc. to concoct a veritable stink-fest which awaits those unfortunate enough to inhabit these areas with their poor sewer drainage.

There is the added danger of mosquitoes that just love the hot humid weather to breed and spread West Nile Virus. You may find yourself in need of either wading boots or at the very least a back door/back gate escape so you can take an alternate route to the bus/train station. At least some kind of exit plan. Just hope to God you didn't park your car in the deep end of this toxic pool.

There certainly doesn't seem to be adequate contingencies for flash-flooding. The sewers all date I'm sure back almost a century or more and the only solution I can think of (if in fact it isn't already in place) is to have some kind of automated pumping system to get rid of excess water once the sewers and train-tunnels become flooded to a certain degree. There certainly isn't enough money in New York's entire budget to try and address rebuilding the entire Brooklyn/Queens/Bronx water/sewer systems. Our taxes would go through the roof. Certainly there are those areas which are harder hit than others and who suffer on a regular basis from flooding and would therefore require more attention. New Jersey always seems to get hit particularly hard.

In recent years I have been contemplating moving out of New York and certainly flooding is one of the big points I will be keen to address before I make that move into a house which may turn out to be a potential quagmire because of where it's situated. I will never live at the bottom of a slope and if possible will try to stay away from anything that's at sea/river level or below because obviously as soon as the banks of a river overflow (to quote the 'Eurythmics') - 'Here comes the rain again'. Also, if I have a basement, I will want to know that it's water-tight.

At the end of the day, though, I'm afraid there's only so much we can do. Fortunately in my experience I haven't been unable to get work in 16 years due to flooding, and I haven't suffered the anguish of having my home flooded. I think it's just an unfortunate fact of life that we all have to jut put up with what Mother Nature throws at us some times and make the best of it. Make sure you have flood insurance should be absolute must, especially with the way things may be heading with global warming and the general rise in waters, which looks like it will inevitably have an effect on New York in decades to come.