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Rain, then wind battering the lake shore once again

Alex Crichton

The worst may be yet to come for residents living along Lake Ontario and the ponds in Greece.

That's from Town Supervisor Bill Reilich, who says because of the high lake levels, now at 249 feet, even light winds from the northeast can cause problems for lakeshore residents.

"The lake is extremely high right now, so even now a ten mile an hour wind can do as much damage as we saw with a 30 mile an hour wind a few weeks ago just because of the high lake levels," he said.

The International Joint Commission, which regulates water levels, maintains a wet spring, not the Plan 2014 water management plan is to blame.

Reilich says they've had rain like this before.

Credit greeceny.gov

"We've had about 15 inches this year.  Other years we've 19 and as much as 30 inches, we didn't have this level of flooding, " he said.

The Greece Town Board has passed a resolution asking Monroe County to explore any legal action, including litigation, to prevent any further action to properties along the lakeshore, and compensate homeowners and businesses already damaged.

Governor Cuomo has announced a $10 million dollar program to help municipalities and another $5 million dollars program for businesses.

Reilich says they expect an announcement from the governor next week to help residents and homeowners.

"We're dealing with what's happening now, but we're looking to the future saying we can't have this happen again.  So, this is going to be continuous even after the wave action stops and the water recedes," he said.