Flooding and the Adaptive Release Policy

Flood damage is a major issue in the entire Delaware River watershed, from the riverside communities in New York State downstream to Trenton, New Jersey.

In the past 2 years, the region sustained 3 devastating floods, the most recent in June 2006.

For decades, New York City DEP denied any responsibility of managing Cannonsville, Pepacton and Neversink Reservoirs for flood mitigation. But after intense public debate and political pressure, the DRBC adopted a “Revision 9: Temporary Spill Mitigation Program” in September 2006 in an effort to reduce spills over the reservoir dams from July thru March in the Delaware River headwaters. This is a step in the right direction, but does not help mitigate spilling of the reservoirs in spring, historically the most flood-prone season.

The coalition's Adaptive Release Policy is a superior policy in terms of flooding: See CP2 Flood Mitigation Benefits

• Lower reservoir levels by September 1st - The simple principle of releasing more water into the rivers during the spring and summer when reservoirs are above normal capacity creates on average 4 billion gallons of additional void in the reservoirs by September 1st compared to the DRBC's proposed water release policy.
• Decreased number of times the reservoirs spill - Computer modeling demonstrates that the coalition adaptive release policy decreases the number of times that the reservoirs will spill compared to the DRBC proposed policy.
• Incorporation of New York City's Temporary Spill Mitigation Program - The coalition's Adaptive Release Policy incorporates New York City's Spill Mitigation Plan for the three reservoirs that calls for higher water releases between July and March when reservoirs are at or near capacity. Click here to learn more about the DRBC Temporary Spill Mitigation Program.