Higgins: $115,000-plus to Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper for project addressing flooding in Lexington Green neighborhood

Federal funding to support a Buffalo Creek floodplain project in Town of West Seneca

Congressman Brian Higgins announced $115,347 in federal funding provided through the 2020 National Coastal Resilience Fund to Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper for the design of a Buffalo Creek floodplain project aimed at reducing flooding in the Lexington Green neighborhood in the Town of West Seneca.

“Lexington Green residents face the threat of flooding from Buffalo Creek every year,” Higgins said. With this grant, Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper, who have been excellent stewards of Western New York waterways, will examine ways to improve the natural environment to help mitigate flooding.”

"Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper is excited about the potential to improve Buffalo Creek and continue restoration and collaboration in the West Seneca community that we started over a decade ago," Executive Director Jill Jedlicka said. "We continue to see an increase in flooding events and habitat loss throughout New York's Great Lakes basin, in large part due to climate change and land use modifications, but through projects like these, we can start to implement more resilient shorelines and communities in the years to come. We are grateful for the National Fish and Wildlife's Foundation continued investment in Western New York."

Historically, high water from Buffalo Creek has made West Seneca’s Lexington Green community prone to flooding. This federal funding will be used by Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper to provide analysis, field study, and preliminary design of a reconnected floodplain on Buffalo Creek in West Seneca, upstream of the flood-prone Lexington Green community. The goal of the project is to mitigate flooding, improve resiliency throughout the community and downstream, and provide beneficial habitat for native species. The total project is expected to cost $446,497.

The National Coastal Resilience Fund is administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper is one of just 46 recipients nationwide receiving a combined $37 million in 2020 for projects designed to strengthen natural infrastructure – the landscapes that help absorb the impacts of storms and floods – to protect coastal communities and enhance fish and wildlife habitat.