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With three major floods in twenty months (09/04, 04/05 & 06/06) and levels approaching the 100 year mark in April 2005 at some locations between here and the Catskills - the critical question is what (if any) of the flood levels might have been reduced through alterations to the watershed management procedures. It appears, the causes of the April 2005 flood were four: a combination of two major rain events in short order, snow melt, lack of a flood control plan for the reservoirs and less than optimal storm runoff policies in upstream developments. Certainly the heavy rain storms and snow melt were the major causes of this flood, but "any" mitigation though flood control or other measures would have made a difference for many downstream.
New York City’s water system includes 3 huge reservoirs in the Catskills that drain into the Delaware River watershed: Cannonsville Reservoir on the West Branch of the Delaware River, Pepacton Reservoir on the East Branch, and the Neversink Reservoir on the Neversink River. Flood controls were not actively in place for any of these 3 reservoirs at the time of the April 2005 flood. Pepacton was the only one that had a flood control policy and it was shut down 3 days before the April flood.
An up-river check of some local newspapers for their take:
On flood control (just after the April 05 flood), the Times Herald-Record in Middlebury, NY and the Pocono Record both reported the following:
"We believe that massive damage could have been reduced," said Bill Douglass of the Upper Delaware Council, which works with the National Park Service. In February, Douglass asked the New York City Department of Environmental Protection – which protects the interests of the reservoirs – to expand the flood-prevention program to at least one more reservoir. He's still waiting for an answer.
"It won't stop the flooding," said Rick Fromuth, water control engineer of the Delaware River Basin Commission, "but it would reduce the spills and the damage."
Referring to the effects a reservoir flood control policy might have had, spokesman Ian Michaels of the NY DEP said: "There would have been lower levels at all of the other reservoirs (besides Pepacton). It would delay the effect since the flood water would come in faster that it can go out over the spillway."
Previously (after the Sept floods) Michaels had stated: "Just because the levels are high right now, we can't just go releasing high-quality drinking water. Just because we have extra water doesn't mean we should give it up. But we do recognize the needs and concerns of people downstream."
During the 24 hour peak of the April flood (4/4-4/5), the Cannonsville, Neversink and Pepacton released an estimated 23 billion gallons of water into the flooded Delaware River.
Mr. Bloomberg and the City of New York are the gate keepers of these hugh reservoirs. Hopefully he and NY's DEP will revisit this issue after April's flooding, which caused one death and $80-$100 million in damage downstream. By not freeing up some capacity from reservoirs at already full capacity prior to a predicted flood event, they helped ensure maximum damage downstream. Even a small reduction of a foot or two in the flood levels would have reduced the damage for many. They have a herculean task to manage & maintain an adaquate water supply for the good residents of NYC, but revisiting flood control measures is needed NOW!
Are runoff basins required and being put into place at new developments in the watershed to slow the pace of runoff during a major storm? If so are the present designs working?
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