CHENANGO COUNTY – Four critical flood gauges in Chenango County that were slated to be shut down in October due to sequestration will remain active for at least one more year thanks to newly acquired federal funding.
It was announced last week that 21 key lake and stream gauges across New York State will receive federal funding that keeps them online through 2014, 15 of which will receive long-term funding that keeps them active beyond 2014. Funding is welcome news for emergency preparedness coordinators in areas like Chenango County, where heavy flooding in recent years has left an unmistakable mark.
“We use these gauges every time it rains to monitor the Chenango, Susquehanna and Unadilla rivers in the county,” explained Chenango County Emergency Management Director Matthew Beckwith. “Gauges give us a prediction of what to expect and we can warn people ahead of time if they are in danger.”
Of the 200-plus river gauges in the state, 61 can be found in the Southern Tier, dozens of which are located in the Susquehanna River Basin. Six gauges are currently running in Chenango County and depend on funding from the United States Geological Survey National Streamflow Information Program, not including two additional gauges in Canasawacta Creek in Norwich that are jointly owned and funded by the City of Norwich and the Chenango County Emergency Operations Center.
But the latest disbursement of federal funding covers only five of the six gauges in the county, Beckwith pointed out. Gauges in the Unadilla River at Rockdale and the Chenango River at Sherburne and Greene will receive long-term funding while the that in the Susquehanna River at Bainbridge will receive enough for 2014.
One gauge in the Chenango River at Oxford will be shut off.
“I’m glad they were able to find some long-term funding. We certainly do appreciate it,” Beckwith said. “But we are unfortunately losing a stream gauge that we find very valuable. A lot of the river flats south of (State Highway) 320 and south on (State Highway) 12 by the Oxford Middle School flood on an annual basis ... without that gauge in Oxford, we will have to carefully monitor what the river is doing in Sherburne and Norwich to determine what it will do in Oxford, and that makes it more difficult to make an accurate prediction.”
During the most recent flooding events in June and July, the use of local stream gauges was the first line of defense for emergency crews, and essential in protecting life and property. Estimated cost to keep one gauge active for one year is nearly $6,000 - just a small price to pay if it means saving thousands more in property damage or even saving a life, said Beckwith.
The battle to maintain federal funding to keep stream and river gauges active is one Chenango County emergency officials fight year after year. In July, state legislatures, including US Senator Charles Schumer, pushed for adoption of the administration’s proposed 2014 budget, which calls for $36.2 million for the National Streamflow Information Program – a $7.3 million increase over the 2012 enacted budget.
Said Schumer, “We have learned from Tropical Storms Irene and Lee, Superstorm Sandy, and the summer flooding in Upstate New York that we can not shortchange programs that our communities rely on to keep their citizens safe and well-informed, and help first responders plan flood responses.”