POTSDAM, New York (WWNY) - Potsdam is getting nearly $9 million from the state to reduce the risk of floods in the village.

“This is the first major investment in upgrading our stormwater system in, it’s easy to say, a century,” said Mayor Alexandra Jacobs-Wilke.

For the most part, the current system works fine, but intense rainstorms can lead to flooding.

The state funds will help build 2 large detention ponds near the village limits to collect rainwater runoff, slowing the flow and reducing flood risks.

“We need to find ways that we could work with what we have and build in systems that can help manage the amount of water that’s coming in, especially when we have major rainfall events that are hitting historic records,” said David Thurlow, Potsdam’s director of planning and developme

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