So what’s new?

I see that the residents of Hortonville expect to, “get some welcome relief from future storms by getting permission to dredge clogged stream beds.” Yep, and one day elephants will fly.

Way back on April 14, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) issued a permit for the Town of Delaware to dredge the mouth of Joe Brook. This work was being done on August 30. Will this prevent Joe Brook from flooding in the next severe high water event? Dredging has not prevented past flooding by this brook, and I doubt if the work recently done will prevent it from flooding again.

When Joe Brook and the East Branch of Callicoon Creek both reach flood stage, what happens? The far stronger velocity and higher volume of water coming down the East Branch smothers the velocity of the water coming down Joe Brook. When the water coming down Joe Brook loses its velocity, the bed load the brook is carrying is deposited in great volume at its mouth. Once the cork is in the bottle, the brook goes over its banks. The Town of Delaware politicians can go ahead and dredge Joe Brook, but they cannot repeal the laws of physics.

The Town of Delaware is also seeking a permit, not yet granted, to dredge the North Branch of Callicoon Creek from the Beechwoods Road to the junction with Callicoon Creek. My, my, what a novel new approach to the problem of flooding. How many times has this section been dredged in the last fifty years? Has this dredging succeeded in preventing flooding? No, it has not, but by golly we are going to dredge the brook once again. Why? “Because officials and homeowners have gone on record that the sediment makes the North Branch prone to overflowing into the basements of nearby homes along the creek’s banks during heavy rainfalls.” Will Rodgers, the famed Oklahoma comedian, had it right when he said, “It ain’t what people don’t know that’s the problem, it’s what they do know, that just ain’t so.” Just last year, under the guise of clearing out culverts along the brook, the highway department exceeded the verbal permit from the DEC and did work in the stream bed. Did that do anything to alleviate this years flooding? No, it did not.

The problem is that when politicians receive loud complaints from their constituents, they feel compelled to do something, anything, even if in the past the action they suggest has resulted in failure. After all, there will be elections coming up and if the citizenry is dissatisfied, they will vote the incumbents out of office. So the politicians seek a permit to dredge the brooks, and if that does not prevent future flooding, they can shrug their shoulders and claim they had done the best they could. If the DEC denies the dredging permit, they can blame it on the DEC. That’s called a political, win, win, strategy. Oh, and by the way, vote to reelect me.

Bulldozers and backhoes in the stream beds will not solve the problem. If the work is excessive, and it frequently is, landowners upstream from the work area can be in for a rude surprise. At flood stage the brook will attempt to replace the sediment that has been removed and it can only come from upstream. If Mr. David Peters wonders where his cornfield has been going, he can find some of it down around Hortonville.

OK, wisebutt, what is the solution to the problem? The bottom line is that structures have been built in the flood plains, and if you build in a flood plain the brook or river is going to come and visit from time to time. There is no easy solution to this problem. There are three possible choices. First, continue to dredge the stream beds and flooding will continue to occur. Second, put all three brooks in huge, horrific concrete pipes. Third, remove any structures now in the flood plains from the flood plains. Sadly, the third option is the only long-term solution to the problem. However, five gets you ten, that the first choice will be the one the Town of Delaware selects. So, what’s new?