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Buffalo Creek Floodplain Reconnection in West Seneca

Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper is working with the Town of West Seneca to address recurring residential flooding in the Lexington Green Neighborhood by reconnecting Buffalo Creek to its historic floodplain, much of which has been eliminated to provide opportunities for the community to grow.

Reconnecting Buffalo Creek to its floodplain will increase the creek’s capacity for floodwater, thus decreasing the risk of property loss and residential flooding. 

Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper received funding from the National Coastal Resiliency Fund (NCRF) for a feasibility study of the area to determine if a floodplain bench would alleviate the impact of flooding. Waterkeeper contracted with Ramboll to determine the feasibility of installing floodplain benches, model the impact of the benches on flooding in the Lexington Green neighborhood, and develop preliminary designs and cost estimates to implement this work

The report (links below) and designs identified a preferred scenario that is anticipated to reduce water surface elevation by up to 2.2 feet during 100-year storm events and lessen the impact to the neighborhood. 

During this work, several public meetings have been held.

Here is a meeting from June 28, 2024. 

View Slides from the Meeting
View Channel 7 News Story on the Meeting
View Channel 2 News Story on the Meeting

Here is a meeting from Aug. 22, 2022. It can also be viewed on the Town of West Seneca’s Facebook page at:  https://fb.watch/h8wc8dcXar/ 

Waterkeeper and the Town of West Seneca are working together to submit a supplemental grant application to allow for this preliminary work to be advanced through final design and permitting.  A public meeting will be held during the final design process to ensure that the community is kept informed and have the opportunity to provide comments.  Follow us on social media for upcoming meeting dates

It is our goal to have the project fully implemented by 2026 which will show immediate relief to severe flooding in the Lexington Green neighborhood  

Learn More

Get to know your backyard with this publication we created in 2010. Along with sharing insight into planning creek corridor conservation in the Town of West Seneca, it highlights various geographic features and wildlife information seen in our region.    

Read the Document
Contact | Katherine Winkler