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The former McDonald's parking lot owned by Mohammed Tariq is being torn up after it was discovered that the source of flooding at his adjacent hotel was caused by a faulty underground culvert.
A construction crew on Wednesday continues excavation of the empty parking lot next to the Howard Johnson hotel in the village of Lake George after flooding in the rooms over the weekend caused a wastewater treatment plant holding tank to overflow. The source of the flooding was caused by a faulty underground culvert blocking stormwater flow.
LAKE GEORGE — The problem causing the flooding at a village hotel will soon be “fixed forever,” Mayor Bob Blais said on Wednesday.
A construction crew from Ellsworth and Son Excavating Inc. has been working at the vacant parking lot next to the Howard Johnson hotel since Monday.
On Monday morning, village officials were made aware of the flooding at 99 Canada St. in the village of Lake George. The first-floor rooms of the hotel that sits on the property were again underwater after heavy rains and melting snow last week.
This is the second time this year the bottom-level rooms of the hotel have flooded from excess stormwater.
Aside from the lack of rescue efforts, like with the flooding on Feb. 18 when a man was stuck on top of his pickup truck in the parking lot surrounded by water, Blais said this was “the worst flood yet” at this location.
The property reportedly had water levels rise so much in the parking lot that the handles of the room doors on the ground level were at least 18 inches underwater.
Blais said this caused the rooms to become filled with water.
“Water inside the rooms was constantly running down the tub drains, sinks and toilets,” he said.
Blais explained that all the water was pumped out of the parking lot by the fire department with some additional assistance from Albany, to the village pump station in Shepard Park.
“All of our wastewater is sent to that pump station right near the beach, usually we have one pump going with another on standby, but with all the water flowing into the station both pumps kicked on and began sending the water to our new wastewater plant,” he said.
The recently opened sewage treatment plant in the village has holding tanks to contain wastewater being treated, but with the volume of stormwater being funneled in on Monday, the tank overflowed into an additional holding basin with amounts similar what the village would see on July 4, Blais said.
The village then declared a state of emergency while cleanup and plans to rectify the recurring issue were made.
The hotel is owned by Mohammad Tariq, who also owns the adjacent lot that used to house a McDonald’s that has since been demolished.
Blais said the issue stemmed from “a 50-year-old stone culvert” underground that was designed to carry stormwater to the pump station. It was discovered, after the flooding over the weekend, that a portion of the vacant lot had caved in and completely blocked water from passing through, creating the backup and overflow into the hotel’s lot.
After the problem was identified, Lake George village officials told the owner he must take action because it was his responsibility to get it fixed. According to Blais, the village hired an engineering firm to perform the preliminary work that needed to be done to allow the contractors to begin and remain on site “to ensure the work is done properly.” He said the board then helped Tariq get in contact with Ellsworth Excavation to complete the necessary construction.
The entire parking lot has been torn up after three blockages that were found under the surface. The culvert will be replaced with a new pipe designed for stormwater flow.
Jana DeCamilla is a staff writer who covers Moreau, Queensbury, and Lake George. She can be reached at 518-742-3272 or jdecamilla@poststar.com.
This article was updated at 3 p.m. on March 25.
The article previously said a tank at the new sewer plant was overwhelmed and spilled. Village Mayor Bob Blais clarified on Friday, a spill did not occur, water overflowed into an additional holding basin.
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The former McDonald's parking lot owned by Mohammed Tariq is being torn up after it was discovered that the source of flooding at his adjacent hotel was caused by a faulty underground culvert.
A construction crew on Wednesday continues excavation of the empty parking lot next to the Howard Johnson hotel in the village of Lake George after flooding in the rooms over the weekend caused a wastewater treatment plant holding tank to overflow. The source of the flooding was caused by a faulty underground culvert blocking stormwater flow.
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