Two local fishing holes back in service

Pipeline company provides a new dock

By FRITZ MAYER

SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — When a sink hole developed at the dam on the Swinging Bridge Reservoir in May 2005, it not only brought an abrupt halt to fishing and boating on that body of water, it also brought a halt to the recreational activities on the reservoirs downstream.

Swinging Bridge reopened in July 2007, but the downstream reservoirs remained officially closed until repair work on the dam could be completed. The work was finished late 2007, and on April 2, Joseph Morgan, the director of the Division of Hydropower Administration, a department of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, sent a letter to Samuel G. Nappi, CEO of Alliance Energy Renewables, the company that now owns the reservoirs, and said that they could be re-opened.

The letter said that the repaired dam at Swinging Bridge had performed as expected while being refilled to historical levels in the fall of 2007, and therefore the company was authorized to open the reservoirs downstream.

The Rio Reservoir and the Mongaup Reservoir are now open to fishing and non-motorized boats. The Rio, which is located in Lumberland and Forestburgh, has a new floating dock, and the creation of a new parking area is underway. The improvements were provided by the Millennium Pipeline Company as part of its mitigation program in connection with replacing the gas pipeline that runs through the county. The portion that runs under the Rio has already been replaced.

At the Mongaup Reservoir, as of April 8, a locked gate prevented cars from reaching the water’s edge, but a spokesman from Alliance confirmed that the site, which is operated and maintained by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), is indeed open to the public.

Also now open is the Mongaup River just south of the Rio, which is a designated white water during releases from the dam.

Another recreation area related to the reservoir system is Cliff Lake, which has not yet re-opened.

The disputed access area on the Toronto Reservoir remains closed as Alliance and the Woodstone Companies and local residents attempt to work out their differences in court.

Alliance has provided a link on the company web site, which provides an overview of its reservoirs, the locations of public access points and the rules of use. Go to www.allianceenergy.us and click on Reservoirs and Recreation for more information.