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HARRISBURG -- Pennsylvania
Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger said today that New York
City has stepped up the amount of water it releases from its reservoirs
to reduce the threat of flooding from the historic snow pack throughout
the upper Delaware River basin.
This action is one of several new flood-mitigation measures
established under a cooperative agreement between New York City and
states along the Delaware River. The city controls several large
reservoirs in the headwaters of the basin that can affect water levels
on the main stem of the river.
“The record-setting snows of February have deposited snow pack
amounts up to three times the average in the upper Delaware River basin,
creating the potential for flooding along the river in the event of a
rapid snowmelt,” Hanger said.
To put it in perspective, the upper basin typically contains 60
billion gallons of snowpack water at this time of year, but recent
snowstorms have tripled the water content in the region’s snowpack to an
estimated 175 billion gallons.
“To lessen the threat to downstream lives and property, New York City
is releasing the maximum amount of water allowed under the Flexible
Flow Management Plan to increase the storage capacity in their
reservoirs,” said Hanger. “This is the sort of cooperation we hoped for
when we created this multi-state agreement to manage water levels along
the Delaware, and I applaud the New York City officials for their quick
action.”
The Flexible Flow Management Plan for New York City’s reservoirs was
adopted in 2007 following major flooding along the Delaware River and is
the first operating plan for the reservoirs to include flood mitigation
principles, as well as public water supply and in-stream habitat
protection. New York City has agreed to operate their reservoirs to
provide a measure of flood control for the main stem of the river while
ensuring that the city has sufficient water to meet its needs.
For more information, visit www.depweb.state.pa.us.
