2006 News

July 18, 2006

Cawley Questions Inter-Agency Flood Mitigation Analysis

Following yesterday afternoon’s Delaware River Basin Flood Hearing at New Hope’s Eagle Fire Company, Bucks County Commissioners’ Board Chairman James F. Cawley, Esq. called for ongoing exploration of the issue.

“The hearing was a good first step,” Cawley said of the event, which was hosted by Congressman Michael G. Fitzpatrick (R-8 th Dist.) and included a panel of experts from the Delaware River Basin Commission, the National Weather Service, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the U.S. Geological Service, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Natural Resources and Conservation Service. “We need to continue to have heightened cooperation between the agencies involved.”

During the hearing, which drew 200 attendees (including scores of residents and business owners directly affected by the Delaware River flood of June 28-29), Cawley questioned experts about the effects of near-capacity reservoir levels at three New York State dams providing water to New York City. Three of those dams, Cannonsville, Pepacton and Neversink, boast a combined storage capacity of 270 billion gallons.

The chairman proposed the creation of a policy regulating the release of water from these upriver facilities, suggesting a two-week advance notice to compensate for predictions of heavy precipitation.

“It is imperative that we seek long-term solutions for the catastrophic floods that have occurred three times within the last 21 months,” Cawley added. “The Bucks County government is committed to facilitating those ultimate solutions, through research, problem solving and implementation.”