Rendell has plan to lower NYC reservoirs

Basin states to share cost flood study HARRISBURG - Governor Ed Rendell has announced an “interim spill mitigation program” for managing releases from New York City’s reservoirs. The four states along the Delaware River have agreed to share the cost of a $500,000 study to examine the effects of operational changes at major reservoirs throughout the entire basin. A task force also will be established by the states through the Delaware River Basin Commission to examine broader flood mitigation issues along the 330-mile river and its 216 tributaries. “These reservoirs are just one piece of a very large and complex flood protection plan for the basin as a whole,” Rendell said. “Lowering reservoir levels is by no means a silver bullet for addressing flooding along the Delaware River, but it may provide an added measure of protection for downstream communities until a more comprehensive program can be developed and adopted.” Under the spill mitigation program, New York City will increase releases to the Delaware River from its Neversink, Pepacton and Cannonsville reservoirs between July 1 and March 31, during periods of above-normal hydrologic conditions. The plan provides for greater reserve capacity in the reservoirs during the Atlantic hurricane season. With a storage void the reservoirs can capture more runoff in the upper reaches of the Delaware River. The spill reduction will not eliminate flooding - the New York City reservoirs control only about one-fifth of the watershed - but flood crests may be reduced immediately below the reservoirs. The plan likely will have little flood mitigation effect farther downstream in Pennsylvania, especially after periods of heavy rains. Operations under the interim spill mitigation program, which still requires formal approval by the parties to the 1954 Supreme Court Decree as well as adoption by the basin commission, will be in effect through March 31. The basin commission will vote on adoption of the plan Sept. 27. The spill mitigation program is moving forward simultaneously with development of a comprehensive flood mitigation plan. Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York each will contribute $150,000 toward a study that more broadly and thoroughly examines the potential effects of managing reservoirs throughout the basin to reduce flooding on the Delaware River and its tributaries. Delaware will provide $50,000. The Delaware River has flooded three times in two years - September 2004, April 2005 and June 2006 - after a period of nearly 50 years without any widespread main stem flooding. More than a dozen other reservoirs in the basin, built for purposes other than flood control, may offer opportunities to provide limited additional flood mitigation. A new model is needed to understand what flood mitigation benefits may be derived from altering the operations at those reservoirs. In addition to addressing reservoir operations, the states will form a task force through the basin commission to look at stormwater management, land-use patterns, open space and farmland preservation, floodplain regulations, and other potential non-structural flood mitigation measures in the basin, which is home to nearly 7.8 million residents, including 5.2 million Pennsylvanians. Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York are affected the most by Delaware River flooding. All four states also have a stake in ensuring adequate water supplies to New York City, and maintaining adequate flows downstream to protect fisheries and other in-stream uses and water supplies in Trenton and Philadelphia. Delaware’s contribution reflects its concern about how the added freshwater flow from increased reservoir releases may affect the Delaware Bay. All four states are members of the basin commission, which was created in 1961 as a regional body to manage the river system for multiple purposes, including water supply, pollution control, flood control, watershed management, fish and wildlife management, recreation, power generation and water allocation. These states and New York City also are among those subject to the 1954 Supreme Court decree. The 330-mile Delaware River is the longest undammed river east of the Mississippi, running from Hancock, N.Y., to the mouth of the Delaware Bay where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. Fifteen million people draw water from the Delaware River and its 216 tributaries. For more information on flood-related issues in Pennsylvania, visit DEP’s Web site at www.depweb.state.pa.us, Keyword: “Flood/Flood Recovery.”