Dam Concerned Citizens got its first look at some of the repairs and construction ongoing at the Gilboa Dam Thursday.
First look because the work itself is hidden behind a black shroud-something that bothers members of DCC and others in the community.
New York City Department of Environmental Protection engineers Mark Suttemier and Paul Costa ran through both storm recovery and construction at the dam for about 60 DCC members at the group's annual meeting.
DCC was formed in 2005 over safety concerns at the Gilboa Dam and over the past seven years, the group has had an up and down relationship with DEP.
Remarks at Middleburgh's Methodist Church were mostly cordial; DCC President Sherry Bartholomew thanked DEP for listening to them and agreeing to install two long-lobbied for siphons at the dam, something the engineers said will be in place till the project is completed.
Using photos, Mr. Suttemier and Mr. Costa explained how flood waters from Hurricane Irene jumped the north wall at the dam site to the spillway channel.
Some 1.98 cubic yards or 500 tons of debris drifted there, they said, all of it held back by the debris boom.
Flood waters washed through the staging area, washed out the construction access road, knocked out the extensometers, and ripped a hole in the spillway channel floor.
The water washed over the top four siphons, though Mr. Costa pointed out that when the water receded, the siphons were still running.
An eerie photo taken one day before the storm showed scaffolding and steel I-beams; a day later, many of them had been sheared off by the force of the flood.
But seven months later, Mr. Costa said, the dam "is stronger now than it's ever been."
Since Irene and following a three-hour brainstorming session with local officials, DEP has rewritten its emergency action plan, adding the New York Power Authority to its notification list.
The alarm sirens are back and the first audible test will be run Wednesday, May 9.
Two new siphons will be installed just to the west of the previous ones to help manage the water level.
All told, the dam reconstruction is a $350 million project, Mr. Suttemier said.
Many of the questions that followed asked about using the dam for some sort of flood control-even if only by getting the flood gates down ahead of a storm "to take the top off."
DEC hasn't discussed that possibility, Mr. Costa said, and the dam isn't intended for flood mitigation.
"But the good news is the tools are there," he said.
"You have to realize how big that storm was," Mr. Suttmeier added of Irene. "No matter what was in place..." nothing could have held back the water.
DCC's Howard Bartholomew said one of the group's priorities now has to be bringing Schoharie, Montgomery and Schenectady Counties to the table for establishing protocol for draw-down procedures for ordinary floods.
"We don't expect miracles," he said, again referring to Irene. Even though Gilboa isn't a flood control dam, "It's very important that this county feels safe."
"You know what we went through...you can't stop there. Somehow we have to make that [flood control] happen," added Ms. Bartholomew.
Blenhein resident Gail Shaffer called for a resident engineer at the dam when reconstruction is finished.
"Grahamsville [in Sullivan County] is a long ways away when the power goes out and the roads go down," she said.
Ms. Shaffer called for opening up an overlook so people can see the dam work for themselves; the site is shrouded in part so construction lights don't bother neighbors.
"I think what bothers me...is [what this means] for history's sake," Ms. Bartholomew said. "We have a right to be able to see in there."
People are afraid to walk on the road near the dam for fear of being arrested, she added.
"Right now, people feel something's being hidden."
Mr. Costa and Mr. Suttemier said the shroud is standard at construction sites, both for liability reasons and to shield neighbors from late night lights.
They said they're not sure there's anything they can do, but promised to take DCC's concerns back to DEP.