In a rare display of mutual affection, Schoharie County, state, and New York City officials Friday morning jointly announced a proposal to reduce flooding in the Schoharie Valley.
In a first since the Gilboa Dam was put into service in 1927, there will be regular releases of water to create a 10 percent void in the Schoharie Reservoir from mid-October to March 15 of each year, John Vickers of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection announced at the county board meeting Friday morning.
This void would create space to accept snowmelt and rain in the spring and hopefully mitigate flooding in the Valley during the months with the highest risk.
Construction on the $142 million project is expected to begin this year but will not be complete until 2020.
City officials admitted Friday that the DEP's ability to make spill mitigation, as well as smaller conservation releases, will be limited until the permanent Schoharie Release Chamber is finished. Until then, the DEP may have the ability to make some of these releases through the temporary siphons that are currently in operation at the Gilboa Dam. Those siphons will be removed when the release chamber is completed. Future releases would then be made through the new chamber.
The DEP is currently waiting for state approvals before implementing the plan for releases at the reservoir.
Though the releases would be limited for at least five years, city, state, and local officials loudly applauded the announcement Friday.
"This is wonderful news we heard here today," Howard Bartholomew of the Dam Concerned Citizens responded after Mr. Vickers made the announcement.
Mr. Bartholomew, of Middleburgh, has been very critical of the City's actions in the past.
It is a much needed water drawdown that creates a safer environment, he added.
"This is a step, certainly in the right direction."
As an avid fisherman, he also praised the daily minimum conservation release of 10 to 15 million gallons per day.
These minimum releases would also be very limited until the chamber is completed in five years. Those releases would improve the conditions for smallmouth bass, brown trout, certain birds, and other animals below the dam, according to City officials.
Assemblyman Pete Lopez, who has also pressured the City for action, also lauded the measures.
"This is significant because we need the City of New York to listen to us," Assemblyman Lopez said.
This is an intelligent and thoughtful response to our joint request to use the Gilboa Dam for flood protection," Assemblyman Lopez stated in a press release.
"Creating a void in the Schoharie Reservoir to blunt the impact of potential floods is an historic first step in protecting the community...The City of New York is listening to us."
On the table for discussion is more of a release of water ahead of possible storm events, he added.
The flood that devastated the Valley occurred on August 28, 2011.
Earl VanWormer of Esperance noted the change in attitude between the City and the county.
"It wasn't always such a friendly or cooperative effort as it is now," he admitted Friday.
With the seasonal water releases, DEP officials aim to have a 10 percent void in the reservoir from October 15 to March 15 each year, creating room for snow runoff and spring rain. Storage would slowly ramp back up to 100 percent by May 1 to ensure water supply reliability through the summer. The water capacity would recede back down to 90 percent through the late summer.
The DEP currently mitigates flood risk at the reservoir by releasing water equivalent to 50 percent of the amount contained in the snowpack throughout the reservoir's watershed. This practice would be replaced by the proposed water release system.
DEP officials noted that a similar program of releases has already been implemented at four of the DEP's other reservoirs in the Catskills.