In a continuing effort to figure out why the Orange County black-dirt region has had three “50-year floods” in less than three years, farmers, legislators and government officials convened at the county government center for a hearing on the topic.
The hearing was hosted by Assemblywoman Anne Rabbitt, R-Greenwood Lake, whose district includes much of the flooded region.
An April 14 Nor”™easter left 3,000 acres under water for days, wiping out crops and in some cases infiltrating houses.
The damage was bad enough to get the area designated for disaster funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but most in attendance said that is just a Band-Aid and a comprehensive solution is needed.
Onion grower Paul Ruszkiewicz, chairman of the Wallkill Valley Drainage Improvement Association, said the flooding can at least be partially attributed to bank erosion along the Wallkill River.
Some problems he and others discussed are developments in the area over the past five to 10 years that have hindered water runoff from the river; the now-closed Orange County Landfill near the Cheechunk Creek that some blamed for narrowing the river; and general river mismanagement.
“We need help from all levels of government to find solutions to these problems,” said Ruszkiewicz.
It was announced at the meeting that $100,000 in federal funding will be used so the Army Corps of Engineers can conduct a preliminary study of the Wallkill River and flooded area.
But Ruszkiewicz, echoing to the comments of many others, said another study would be redundant, as the Army Corps has already conducted several.
Former U.S. Rep Ben Gilman, who represented the area for nearly 30 years, said he remembers studies of the river being done in every decade he served in Congress.
“Why do we need more studies just so the Army Corps of engineers can retrace its steps?” said Gilman.
In 1938, the Army Corps started a project to improve drainage along the river but it was never completed due to a lack of funding.
Ruszkiewicz suggested that would be one project the Army Corps should go back and review.
Army Corps official Tricia Aspinwall said a new study would have to be done because of natural changes that have occurred in the area since the last study was done.
But vegetable farmer Bernie Bialis, like others, said the basic underlying problem had not changed and performing another study would be pointless.
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“We”™ve got 40-plus years of studies; that”™s enough studies to dam that river,” he said.
Also discussed was the need to clean up and dredge the river.
The rain from the April storm caused already saturated areas to flood severely. In some areas, the flooding caused gulley erosions, landslides and stream-bank damage, along with silt and debris deposits in growing fields.
During the hearing, it was announced that another forum on the topic is scheduled for Nov. 27 with U.S. Rep John Hall, D-Dover Plains.
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