A large portion of North Tonawanda (see soils shown in bold red font below) originated as silts and clays deposited in lakes created by glaciers. See a further explanation of each soil at the bottom of this web page.
Some of the same soils present in the Town of Amherst also exist in Niagara County, NY. The City of North Tonawanda and parts of Niagara County (located adjacent and just west of the Town of Amherst in Erie County) may also have potential problems for home foundations due to soil conditions. There won't be many public officials volunteering this sort of information. The data on this web page was excerpted from the Niagara County, NY, "Soil Survey". It was published in 1972 by the USDA Soil Conservation Service. The Niagara County soil survey (p. 57 and 98) groups glacial lake (lacustrine) deposits and resulting soils in the following way:
* Deep, sandy deposits--Arkport, Colonie, Elnora(13), Galen, Lamson(15), Minoa(16), and Stafford soils.
* Sand, 20 to 40 inches thick over clay-- Claverack(6), Cosad(2), and Cheektowaga(3).
* Sand, 3 to 6 feet thick over gravel-- Gravelly substratum phases of Lamson(15) and Stafford soils.
* Deep, silty deposits-- Dunkirk, Collamer, Niagara(5), Canandaigua(9), and Raynham.
* Deep, clayey deposits-- Hudson, Madalin, Odessa(1), Rhinebeck, Schoharie(12) and Lakemont(4) and Rhinebeck soils, thick surface variant.
* Clay deposits 40 inches
or more thick over sandy material-- Rhinebeck soils, sandy substratum.
The list
compiled (below) describes the 16 soils that are present on the site of homes that have experienced foundation problems in Amherst with those present at the sites of the most homes with problems listed first and the remainder listed in descending order. Soils that are also present in North Tonawanda are shown in
bold font. SOIL -
(CAPABILITY UNIT) - SOIL FEATURES AFFECTING FOUNDATIONS FOR LOW
BUILDINGS 1) Odessa
silty clay loam (III w-2) - Seasonal high water table; variable
compressibility; low bearing capacity 2) Cosad
fine sandy loam (III w-4) - Seasonal high water table; variable
compressibility; low bearing capacity 3) Cheektowaga fine sandy loam (III w-3) - Prolonged high
water table; compressible clayey substratum; generally low bearing
capacity 4) Lakemont silty clay loam (IV w-1) - Prolonged high water
table; moderately high to high compressibility; low bearing capacity 5) Niagara
silt loam (III w-1) - Seasonal high water table; variable
compressibility; low bearing capacity 6) Claverack loamy fine sand (II w-1) - Seasonal high water
table; compressible clayey substratum; generally low bearing capacity 7) Churchville silt loam (III w-2) - Seasonal high water
table; generally moderately high to high bearing capacity 8) Swormville - not listed in Niagara County 9) Canandaigua silt loam
(III w-3) - Prolonged high water table; variable compressibility; variable
bearing capacity. [This soil covers a large portion of the City of North
Tonawanda.] 10) Cayuga
silt loam (II w-2) - Seasonal high water table; generally low
compressibility; moderately high bearing capacity 11) Ovid
silt loam (III w-1) - Seasonal high water table; variable
compressibility; moderately high bearing capacity; moderate shrink-swell
potential in places; hard bedrock at a depth of 3 1/2 to 6 feet; rock swell on
pressure release in places 12) Schoharie silty clay loam (II e-4) - Seasonal high water
table; soils generally compressible; generally low to moderately low bearing
capacity 13) Elnora
loamy fine sand (II w-1) - Seasonal high water table; variable
compressibility; large settlement possible under heavy loads or vibratory
loads. 14) Getzville - not listed in Niagara County 15) Lamson
very fine sandy loam (III w-3) - Prolonged high water table; moderately
high compressibility; generally low strength 16) Minoa very fine sandy
loam (III w-1) - Seasonal high water table; variable
compressibility
"Except for muck and peat, soils formed in lacustrine (glacial lake) sediments present more engineering problems than any other soils in the county because of their topographic location and their low strength and stability."- page 98 of the Niagara County Soil Survey.
On page 11, the following description can be found for the Canandaigua(9)-Raynham-Rhinebeck soil association-- (City of North Tonawanda and Tonawanda Indian Reservation) - minor associated soils are the Lakemont(4), Madalin, Odessa(1), Niagara(5), Minoa(16), and Lamson(15) series:
"Natural drainage and slow permeability are the two most limiting factors for community development. Sanitary sewers and an adequate drainage system are generally needed. The soils in this association formed in deep lacustrine deposits that normally contain wet, compressible, unstable layers. Care is needed in constructing foundations and developing a road base."
Think of some road conditions and drainage problems in North Tonawanda ...
and draw your own conclusions about the value of the soil survey!
View photos of a typical flooding event in North Tonawanda by hitting here. Flooding occurs quite often, nearly every year when there is not a drought. The photos show a "high water table" created by the city's storm sewers that are woefully inadequate for handling peak rain or snow melting events.
Go to our Amherst sinking home main page
Read Views on US Army Corps of Engineers Wetland Protection (or lack thereof)
View expert information about home foundation problems and soils in Amherst
Back to Citizens for a Green North Tonawanda Home Page.
� 2005