Crews work to remove debris in Canadaway Creek at the Water Street bridge Tuesday.

An old problem spot, the Water Street bridge, nearly caused another flood in Fredonia on Tuesday.

“There was a blockage again on Water Street pier, the center post once again, which has been a problem,” Mayor Michael Ferguson said at a Board of Trustees workshop Wednesday.

“It was discovered immediately by (the village Department of Public Works),” the mayor said. “Kravitz Tree Service came in within 10 minutes. (They) removed not only a couple full size trees that were blocking (Canadaway Creek) and starting to back up water, but also a huge tree trunk.

Fredonia police temporarily blocked Water Street while crews worked to remove the debris.

Ferguson concluded, “The quick response to that, and the cooperation of all of our departments, probably saved this village from another flooding.”

The Water Street bridge, with its center pier that divides Canadaway Creek in two, has caused problems for seemingly as long as anyone can remember. Several flooding events have happened over the situation that was averted this week: Debris catching on the pier and blocking the flow.

The Board of Trustees considered a local law in October 2018 to mandate creek bed cleaning by nearby property owners, in order to soothe the flooding problems. The mayor at the time, Athanasia Landis, said a 2017 flooding event in the area — also caused by a center pier debris pileup — led to the proposed law.

At least 11 people, most residents of nearby Liberty Street, spoke against the proposed law at a trustees meeting. They were concerned about the cost of cleaning the creek beds, and asserted it was unfair they should have to deal with debris that comes from up to 20 miles upstream.

Landis asked trustees to set aside the proposal, and they did.

Ferguson told the OBSERVER “there’s talk, very early planning stages” of replacing the Water Street bridge deck and removing the center pier. A $50,000 grant the village recently received to stabilize the nearby creek walls may also help out, he said.

The mayor pointed out there are “hundreds of trees” on the nearby embankment, and they cannot be easily removed.