Toward a Sustainable City? (2000-present)  Severe rain storms in spring 2011 caused a sinkhole to open on Washington Ave. near Linderman Ave. At this location, the Tannery Brook was diverted away from its historic channel and entered a tunnel under Washington Ave. Damage from the sinkhole and associated repairs closed Washington Ave. to traffic for five years. What will it take to move toward more a sustainable city?

Tannery Brook high water at 115 Green St, Kingston. April 6, 2017.

Severe rain storms in the spring of 2011 caused a sinkhole to open on Washington Avenue near Linderman Avenue. At this location, the Tannery Brook enters the tunnel under Washington Avenue that was originally constructed in 1909. Another sinkhole formed in March 2012, causing Washington Avenue to collapse.

While most of the tunnel was built through rock, there are a few sections of clay soils. The soils settled and moved over time, and groundwater carried soil into the tunnel. These clay sections had long posed difficulties. In 1948, City Engineer A. F. Hallinan inspected the tunnel with a construction worker, who recalled early issues with subsidence. “We then proceeded to Washington Avenue and Main Street where Mr. Cragan described the cave in, or subsidence, due to the tunnel passing from a rock section to a clay section and thru which the tunnel was laid in a shield under pressure. He claimed that in this area there was 200 to 300 feet of muck thru which the tunnel passed before coming to a rock section.”

Washington Avenue was closed to traffic for five years. Other infrastructure failures associated with the tunnel included a major sewer collapse off Gilead Street, groundwater leaks, and structural damage to the manhole and tunnel at Lucas Avenue. Although Washington Avenue reopened in June 2016, problems remained. Grouting used to stabilize the soil entered and blocked a sanitary sewer. Work to repair the sewer is ongoing. As of January 2018, the total cost of sinkhole repair was over $10 million.

Since 2000, new federal and state regulations have changed how communities manage stormwater. In 2016, green infrastructure practices were constructed at the municipal parking lots on North Front Street. Runoff in these parking lots no longer flows into storm sewers. Instead, it soaks directly into the soil through rain gardens, dry wells, and pervious pavement. These practices reduce runoff and improve water quality. There are also new perspectives on urban rivers, as many cities are restoring buried streams.

We deal with the impacts of past decisions, but a better understanding of the Tannery Brook’s history can inform decision-making today. The City of Kingston has actively worked to reduce sewer overflows, improve watershed planning, survey natural resources, and adapt to climate change. What more will it take to move toward a sustainable city? What will the Tannery Brook mean for Kingston in the future?