New York State Comptroller's Office Canaseraga Creek Improvement Records

Through the River Improvement Act (Laws of 1904, Chapter 734) any municipality or person having riparian rights could petition the River Improvement Commission to regulate the flow of water courses in the aid of public health and safety.

The commission would rule on the petition's importance and then authorize preliminary surveys and investigations on the causes and solutions to the water flow problems. These proposals would include plans of suggested improvements, surveys of the lands affected by them, and maps made showing all the lands to be taken and/or damaged by the plans of proposed structures. Maps apparently made for this phase of the project are not found in the series. The improvements could only be undertaken under specific legislative authorization, after which bids and proposals were advertised. A bond was required before entering into any contract, and the commission could issue bonds to pay for the cost of the improvements.

Plans for the Canaseraga improvement were submitted to the State Water Supply Commission (created by Laws of 1905, Chapter 723) which reviewed applications and approved all maps and profiles related to sources of water supply. Such applications were accompanied by the maps of lands to be acquired, and profiles showing sites and areas of proposed works. In this case the improvement was to straighten, widen, and deepen the creek's channel, to shorten its length by six miles, and to give it a uniform cross section and bottom grade. These improvements were designed to eliminate conditions which were said to "threaten the public health and hinder agricultural operations" and to restore the land to profitable use. The muck land was suitable, when drained, for onion and celery production. Included in the improvement district were 11,000 acres determined to benefit from the proposed improvement. Several appropriation bills were passed to pay expenses and obligations in connection with the improvement district.

The series consists of documents relating to the Canaseraga Creek improvement project authorized by Chapter 419 of the Laws of 1906.

The Canaseraga Creek is an important tributary of the Genesee River. Heavy silt deposits and the irregular course of the creek inhibited free passage of water, resulting in severe annual flooding. The slow subsidence of flood waters on the flat land impaired cultivation and caused damage. The records document efforts to redress the situation posed by damage to the public health, through an approved state improvement project.

The series includes the following documents: certificate by the secretary of the State Water Supply Commission that maps of the proposed Canaserage Creek improvement were adopted by the River Improvement Commission (maps are not found); printed specifications for the proposed improvement; resolution of the River Improvement Commission adopting the maps and specifications (including a list of land holders affected); preliminary cost estimate; copy of Laws of 1906, Chapter 419 (authorizing the improvement); printed proposal book containing a copy of the contract to be entered into; letters from the State Water Supply Commission and the Attorney General concerning bonds; a printed statement about the bonds, dated 1910; and copy of the resolution of the Conservation Commission dated June 23, 1915, authorizing issue of temporary certificate of indebtedness for the Canaseraga Creek Improvement District.

16827Series 16827, New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation Minutes of Division of Water Predecessor Agencies, contains related records.

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.