Three leaders in the push for flood control along the Delaware River are concerned that recent the Flexible Flow Management Program does not go far enough in protecting those along the Delaware River from future flooding.
By Diane Tharp, Gail Pedrick and Chuck Schroeder
This year, June 27-29 marked the 10th anniversary of the devastating Delaware River flood of 2006.
It may have almost slipped from memory for many, but not for those who experienced the destruction and lives lost during this flood and the two preceding floods in 2004 and 2005.
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection owns three reservoirs at the headwaters of Delaware River in southern New York State. Both historical tradition and the current Flexible Flow Management Program established in 2007 by the governors of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and the mayor of New York City allows the city to keep these reservoirs brimming full part of the year - the part that usually brings heavy spring rains and the beginning of hurricane season.
Even though the establishment of the program constitutes a very important step toward the development of a flood mitigation plan, it fails to provide the releases needed to maintain year round "safety voids" in the reservoirs and to prevent spilling reservoirs during storm events.
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Heavy rains contribute to flooding, but when heavy rains hit full reservoirs, the result can be a flood made far worse on the Delaware River as was witnessed during the catastrophic floods in 2004, 2005 and 2006 increasing flood crests and causing damage in the tens of millions to the economies and infrastructure of hundreds of municipalities as well as threatening the lives of all who live in the Delaware River Basin.
This year, on May 31, the Flexible Flow Management Program of the Delaware River Basin was renewed for one year by the governors of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and the mayor of New York City.
Incredibly, for the fifth consecutive year, no flood mitigation improvements were added even though improvements have been urgently requested.
Since 2006, stakeholders have fought for a fair and equitable plan, but the elected officials have not been effective in helping us.
All requests to further improve the plan have been ignored for the last five years and no legislation has been proposed to protect us. Everything is discussed behind closed doors leaving the public with no involvement in the decision making and due to the unanimity clause negotiations have stalled.
New York City has always put forth the argument that year round "safety voids" in the reservoirs will jeopardize their water supply. However, the scientific data presented the last ten years especially the reports by the New Jersey DEP does not support this argument.
Additionally, the city's new Croton Filtration Plant can supply the City with 30-percent of its water if necessary during drought, and to the city's credit, their daily consumption today of 1.1 billion gallons is almost the same as before the Delaware Reservoirs existed. With this additional water, there should be ample water supply to create a safety void to mitigate flooding.
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Ten years ago the impact of spilling reservoirs may have been disputed, but the results of the Flood Analysis Model released in 2009 is the scientific evidence and proof that flood crests will be significantly lower if voids exist and that spilling reservoirs contributed to higher flood crests all the way down to Trenton - as much as 6 feet higher in some locations! Yet, none of the government entities acted on this scientific data to protect the safety of the public.
The people of the Delaware River Basin are entitled to a fair and equitable reservoir management plan that will protect the public, the economies, the aquatic habitats and the Delaware River from catastrophic flooding.
The severity of a flood is not an act of Mother Nature when dangerously mismanaged reservoirs make floods worse.
Could mismanaging the Delaware Reservoirs be considered an unlawful act and those parties signatory on the plan be held liable if catastrophic flooding occurs?
This is a question that will most certainly be raised if the politicians and bureaucrats who have had the opportunity for the last five years to improve the plan have done nothing.
We will have another flood. It's just a matter of time. Those responsible for making floods worse in the past have never been held accountable. God forbid we're hit with man-made high water again.
But if we are, the responsible parties will be held accountable. Let us all work together to make sure that the best possible plan is in place to protect us from the same devastation we experienced during the Delaware River Flood of 2006.
Diane Tharp is the executive director of the North Delaware River, Watershed Conservancy; Gail Pedrick is the president of the Delaware Riverside Conservancy; and Chuck Schroeder is with Drowning on the Delaware, Inc.