Stony Point Library and homes damaged by sudden flood from water main break
Tiny chairs and toys were all covered in a dried brown film Friday morning as professional cleaners tore up the still-saturated carpet.
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The downstairs children's room at Rose Memorial Library on East Main Street was inundated with water Thursday afternoon, destroying children's books, the carpet, a computer and a closet full of supplies for this fall's children's projects.
Tiny chairs and toys were all covered in a dried brown film Friday morning as professional cleaners tore up the still-saturated carpet.
Thursday afternoon's water main break at 9W and East Main sent water pouring into the sewer.
The water then came up through a drain in the bathroom next to the children's room, "and it just flooded the entire children's room within five minutes. Six to eight inches of dirty, questionable water," library director Carole Gomez said.
The Champlain Hudson Power Express https://westchester.news12.com/stony-point-businesses-suffer-losses-during-construction-of-pipeline-to
hydropower pipeline is being built beneath 9W, close to where the water main break was.
A CHPE spokesperson said in an email, "This has nothing to do with our project" because "there was no CHPE work occurring in the intersection or in the Town of Stony Point when the water main break occurred."
Veolia Water owns the water main.
A Veolia spokesperson said Friday the cause is not yet clear.
She said the company's engineers are working with CHPE and the New York State Department of Transportation to reduce the impact of the pipeline project on the water system.
At least four homes were also flooded.
Kim Rinaldi, who lives across East Main from the library said her insurance does not cover damages due to water main breaks.
Rinaldi's basement had up to three inches of muddy water with a smell that had a hint of sewage.
She wants to know who is at fault so she can file a claim with that agency or company.
"Now I have to go to whoever's responsible," she said, "if it was the CHPE or if it's Veolia."
One of the four affected homes was evacuated Thursday.
The Red Cross is putting up the residents of that home in hotel rooms for now.
Library staff said they had several thousand dollars' worth of damage, and the entire library will stay closed for at least one more week for cleanup.
