Release program to prevent East Branch flooding

By CHARLIE BUTERBAUGH

DOWNSVILLE, NY — Every year melting snow, river ice and precipitation threaten to join forces to cause flooding, the late-winter lion of the Upper Delaware River valley.

For residents living along the East Branch of the Delaware River, flooding is often caused by water spilling over the dam at the Pepacton Reservoir, the largest of three reservoirs that together provide 50 percent of the New York metropolitan area’s drinking water.

For months, water levels at Pepacton have hovered close, and often above, the reservoir’s maximum capacity, which is 140 billion gallons. On January 26, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced the implementation of a new “spill reduction program,” which has allowed controlled releases from the Pepacton Reservoir to begin.

Last week Delaware River Basin Commission Communications Officer Clarke Rupert told The River Reporter that it takes about five days to reduce the water level at Pepacton by two billion gallons. He said any decision to release water from the reservoir, which was not designed for flood control, must be approved by New York City as well as the four river basin states.

DEC Commissioner Erin Crotty said, “Through work with the DEP, local municipalities and the federal government, we have been able to create a unique controlled release program that will alleviate the pressure of snowfall and melt. This will help protect the residences along this portion of the river while also ensuring that water supply remains at desired levels to serve the millions of New Yorkers that rely on this important resource.”

Under the program, controlled releases will be made from Pepacton in order to maintain a void in the reservoir equal to one-half of the water equivalent of any existing snow pack. The void will vary as the snow pack increases or decreases. The program will continue until March 31.

Supplemental releases will not be made when the river gage at Fishs Eddy is above 13.0 feet, the flood stage for the East Branch, or when the gage is projected to be above 13 feet within 48 hours. Releases may also be suspended if ice threatens flood-prone areas.