DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
---------------------------------------------------------
Erie Canal Neighbors Association
HTML https://ecna.createaforum.com
---------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************
DIR Return to: Seneca River - Erie Canal Community Discussion
*****************************************************
#Post#: 2583--------------------------------------------------
NYS Canal Corporation holds public meeting on Seneca River
Flooding Issues
DIR By: Doug K
Date: June 15, 2024, 10:18 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Ran across this video recently, the last required session of the
Upstate Flood Mitigation Task Force being run by the New York
State Canal Corporation (NYSCC).
HTML https://youtu.be/qBv_G8LaLHI?si=ZDG1najM9-2hBW9J
After 4 required public sessions, and endless hours of
discussion & preparation I'm sure, the message was clear... "We
are STILL working on solutions folks, stay tuned".
You can watch the video, but it's more than 90 minutes long so
be forewarned. And while most of it was "public fluff", there
was some real information shared throughout the YouTube video.
All in all it was more of a "here's where we are, and here's
where we want to go" session, and the last time we might see
this group together, facing the public.
Much of the meeting discussed plans for modeling the water
issues, including investigating the possibility of restoring the
Montezuma Region to the swamp that it used to be by funneling
excess rain/flood water to the Northern Montezuma Wetlands. I
was struck by almost a total lack of actually engaging the
homeowners & property owners who deal with this flooding on a
seasonal basis.
That seems odd when the core group of SMEs, Subject Matter
Experts in Hydrology, Civil Engineering and such, ALL stated
they need MORE DATA to better answer the question of how to stop
Oswego Basin neighbors from being inundated with water, each and
every time more than 1" of rain falls in Central NY.
I watched over 90+ minutes of conversation regarding flooding NY
Home & Business owners and not once did I hear about any
"real-time" engagement for flood information from those most
affected... the general public. Why do these NY State Agencies
continue to ignore those who have the most pertinent
information?
Why isn't the NYS Canal Corporation working on engaging the
actual public more with an interactive mapping or reporting
tool?
Seems like a real easy method to get data for mapping, when it
happens and where water is becoming an issue. A simple webpage
(on the Canal Corporation website) titled "Report NYS Waterway
Flooding" would be a start, and at least give Oswego & Mohawk
Watershed Neighbors a method to feel engaged with the solutions
they need. Collect simple information, including Contact,
Address & Brief Description along with the ability to include a
photo for future reference, and start filling the system with
real-time data that should help the effort of understanding the
extent of the flooding problems.
Rain falls somewhere in these areas and is recorded by local
weather stations. That rain migrates to the lowest point
eventually, causing flooding along known waterways & lakes. By
capturing those data points and correlating rainfall locations
with verified high water events, along with the length of time
those locations have high water, should help understand the
volume of water that needs to move and how quickly that water
needs to start flow.
Along the Seneca River, any rain water added to Cayuga & Seneca
Lakes seems to cause "river rise" a few days after the rain
events in these Finger Lakes regions by as much as 12" to 18"
almost overnight and remains high for 2 or 3 weeks. Seneca River
water gages record the rise but with no "Rule Curve" or "High
Water Alarm Point", these occurrences get zero response from any
agency.
Here's a couple questions that should be answered by the NYS
DEC, and the NYS Canal Authority, and the Head of the Task Force
itself, Mr. Brian Stratton :
Why not work on a SIMPLE solution FIRST, before spending a
bucket load of money on something else?
Why not engage hundreds of homeowners along these flood-prone
areas to help collect the data needed to form the BEST models?
It would seem if these State Agencies are really serious about
solving this difficult problem, the best method is to get
real-time, front line data as quickly as possible. That won't be
done by a bunch of Engineers & Managers sitting in a conference
room, discussing theoretical ideas. In the world of solution
creation any Engineer worth listening to would say "Go to the
problem and watch it happen to learn as much as possible". And
the best information comes from those who live with the problems
on a daily basis, in real-time.
Maybe it's time for the NYS Canal Corporation to actually go out
and visit the communities & neighbors PERSONALLY that have to
deal with the "water problems" that have been created by this
"man-made" river called the Erie-Seneca-Barge Canal.
Maybe it's time to engage the public more, for the solutions
that affect that same public the most... not once did the NYSCC
directly name the public as "Shareholders or Stakeholders" in
this Upstate Flooding problem.
Mr. Stratton sir, did your property get flooded from December
2023 to March 2024?
Was your dock underwater all winter long sir?
Do you have a "Green River" outside your door all summer long
because some NYS Agency has changed the normal course & flow of
the Seneca River?
[attachimg=1]
[attachimg=2]
*****************************************************
Page 1 of 1