Steps need to be taken to help prevent future Delaware River flooding.
By Gail Pedrick
New Hope
To the editor:
To governors Tom Wolfe of Pennsylvania, Chris Christie of New Jersey, Andrew Cuomo of New York, Jack Markell of Delaware and New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio, please do not make us live below the ticking time bombs of the New York and Delaware reservoirs. The Delaware River flood problem is not solved and the next Delaware River Basin Commission meeting is April 5 in Hawley, Pa.
All have been affected by the Delaware River Floods of 2004, 2005 and 2006, either directly or through taxes for repairs of roads, bridges, etc.
We need you to attend the commission's flood meeting or send your "Why you do not want to see another Delaware River Flood" comments to delawareriversideconservancy@gmail.com.
I, as president of the Delaware Riverside Conservancy, will be at the meeting to speak and present your comments to each of the four states and New York City representatives, also know as the decree parties.
Historic flood hit Delaware River towns
The next meeting of the Regulated Flow Advisory Committee is scheduled for Tuesday, April 5, from 1-4 p.m. at the Lake Wallenpaupack Environmental Learning Center in Hawley, Pa.
The Flexible Flow Management Plan will be voted on soon by the decree parties.
The "dangerous" part of the plan is they are going to have the New York Delaware Reservoirs full at 100-percent (or more) from May 1 to June 15. That means there will be no voids for the incoming rains.
There were "no voids" when we had the three major floods of 2004, 2005, and 2006. The reservoirs were all at 100-percent full and spilling over the top, when the heavy rains came, billion of gallons poured from the reservoirs into the Delaware River.
We must always have voids in the reservoirs for incoming rain as it takes weeks to lower the reservoirs in order to create voids because of small release values at the bottom.
The Flood Analysis Model released in 2009 and paid for by the four states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and New York, as well as the federal government ($750,000), is the scientific evidence and proof that if pre-storm voids exist then flood crests will be lower.
Despite this scientific fact, the governors and mayor of New York City still want to have the reservoirs full from May 1 to June 15.
Delaware River flooding history
Sadly, some of the governors and New York City mayor are more concerned about getting their agenda items when they meet than the safety of the lives and property of those who live along the Delaware. We must be at the meeting or send comments to stop them from putting this dangerous plan into place.
The new Croton filtration plant can supply New York City with 30-percent of its water if necessary during a drought. This additional water should enable the City to provide year round voids in its reservoirs.
We have been lucky since 2006, that the storms of Hurricane Irene, Tropical Storm Irene and Hurricane Sandy did not occur when the reservoirs were full. If we have a heavy storm when the reservoirs are full, and the Delaware River floods again, we can look to the governors and New York City mayor and ask: "Why didn't you put in the plan 10-percent year-round voids with maximum releases when necessary, to protect our lives and properties?"