This project really began a year before the flash flood came through the village of Penn Yan, New York. In June of 2013, Cleantec received a call for flooding remediation work on a building that was part of The Arc, a non-profit national organization that helps communities assist individuals with disabilities, hundreds of miles from the subject of this event. The work included mitigation and remediation for properties for The Arc chapter in Herkimer, New York. Their day habilitation center and 7 residence homes in their small town suffered a massive spring flooding event.
One year later, another chapter of the same non-profit organization servicing an even smaller village community suffered the same fate. On May 13, 2014, a flash flood swept through the village of Penn Yan, washing away major buildings and roadways. Built directly in the path of the flood waters rising from the stream was a 26,000 square-foot facility used for day habilitation and training for individuals with disabilities. Despite the heroic efforts of the director of facilities and his staff, sandbagging and pumping could not keep up with the rise of the waters and building was in a state of ruin.