DRBC: dam flood control is ‘wasting water’

UDC says that's ‘baloney’

By DAVID HULSE

	TRR photo by Ed Wesely Filled with rain from a torrential cloudburst last week, motorboats at a dock near Narrowsburg, NY went to the bottom. (Click for larger image)

NARROWSBURG, NY — As areas in and around the Upper Delaware were cleaning up flooding damage from last week’s storms, Upper Delaware Council (UDC) members were in no mood to hear that New York City drinking water storage concerns would not lot allow upstream reservoirs to aid them with flood control should storms arrive with the current hurricane season.

The Sullivan County Department of Public Works reported roadway damage last week in the towns of Fremont, Rockland, Neversink and Callicoon.

In Wayne County, PennDOT reported that Route 191 will be closed for three weeks in Oregon Township following a storm-related bridge collapse. Five other state roads, including State Routes 4007 in Bethany, and 4000 and 4017 in Dyberry Township were open with warnings that drivers use caution.

Local fire departments were busy with basement pump-outs during the week.

Despite the ongoing flooding condition and the onslaught of the traditional hurricane season, a Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) official told the UDC on September 4 that there was really nothing New York City could do to aid them in flood control and that precautionary dumping of the reservoirs, already at near capacity, would be wasting water.

“I’d rather waste water than see flooding,” said Larry Richardson of Cochecton. “We hear what you say, but coming from a town that has repeated flood damage over the decades, we’re very concerned that DRBC says there is nothing they can do.”

UDC Executive Director Bill Douglass recalled that five billion gallons had been dumped from Pepacton Reservoir several years ago to provide flood protection.

DRBC spokesman Tom Brand told the panel that design and program restrictions prevented the system from dumping water for precautionary reasons and that the release mechanisms could not dump water fast enough in a flood situation to be of help. “It’s not how they’re designed,” Brand said.

“We have to plan for storage. We can’t plan for a storm that may not happen,” he added.

“With all due respect, baloney,” said Westfall’s Allan Bowers.

Bowers noted that the DRBC reports show the reservoirs are one-third above their usual storage levels for this time of year. “You couldn’t release down to 20 percent above the median; come on?… My town is not worried about New York City’s drinking water. We don’t want to be flooded out of our homes,” Bowers said.

Bowers suggested that the city should be liable for flood loses.

Deerpark delegate Phil Chase said none of the state or federal agencies are willing to take responsibility for flood protection. He recalled how the city had been crying ‘drought’ the year before when they were down 60 billion gallons, “then we had tremendous rains that brought the river up to within six inches of the top of the dikes in Port Jervis.”

“Now it’s hurricane season. If we have a flood, somebody’s going to be responsible. Someone has to start doing something other than praying,” Chase said.

Concluded its discussion, the panel approved a new letter to DRBC Executive Director Carol Collier, again seeking dam control.

Hearing Douglass recall that similar letters in the past have not been successful and are often not answered, the panel approved additional language asking Collier to reply.

Ironically, the only good news coming from DRBC last week was in Douglass’ report of the passage of two commission resolutions pertaining to increasing minimum flows during dry periods. The commissioners authorized the creation of a Committee on the Ecological Function of the Upper River to assist in the creation of scientifically based ecological flow requirements for the upper river. A second resolution approved a $250,000 appropriation for the Army Corps of Engineers to study stream flows and temperatures in conjunction with expanded U.S. Weather Service flow modeling. which will include additional stream flow gauges.