Voila: George Field and Cooper Green Back to Normal

(Updated May 2) On Monday May 1 we reported that the seven acre retention pond at George Field Park was put to the test on April 30th when Scarsdale was deluged. Weather forecasters report that five inches of rain fell in Central Park on Wednesday. The retention pond in Greenacres, which is the largest in Westchester County, was built to retain water during storms and release it downstream in a timed fashion. The pond can hold 2,300,000 gallons of water.

Stephen Sherman took this video of George Field and shared it with us. Check out the new lake at Greenacres.

The pond was built to as part of a large storm water retention program that sends water south to Cooper Green, downstream along the Post Road, into Harcourt Woods and eventually drains into the Bronx River. The intention was to eliminate flooding in homes in the Grange, along Greendale, Oxford and Cambridge roads as well as Rugby Lane, Windmill, and Windmill Circle. The project is not yet complete, and there was still flooding at the high school parking lots on Thursday morning, May 1.

The good news is that the retention pond did what it was supposed to do. Twelve hours later, by 7:30 pm on May 1, it was drained of the excess water and pretty much back to its usual state. That is what is supposed to occur. At Cooper Green, oppositie the Public Safety Building, the rain garden was dry after the storm as well. Below find pictures of George Field and Cooper Green on May 2, completely drained of water. It appears to be doing what it is designed to do -- retain heavy rain falls for a slower release downstream.

Photo Credit: Jon Mark