New York Awards $500,000 in Funding to Study Ice Jams and Flooding on Mohawk River
New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today directed the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to undertake a $500,000 flooding and ice jam study of the main-stem Mohawk River corridor. The study will analyze storm and ice-jam flood mitigation needs in high-risk areas and include recommendations to mitigate future flood and ice jam hazards on the Mohawk River and other waterbodies across New York. In addition, DEC released a draft “whole river” five-year action agenda to drive further improvements to the water quality, ecology, and overall flood resiliency of the Mohawk River Watershed, along with a detailed progress report on the numerous collaborative initiatives implemented to date.
“As severe weather becomes the new normal, it is critical that all levels of government coordinate effectively and advance projects that enhance the resiliency of our infrastructure and support our aggressive efforts to improve water quality,” Gov. Cuomo said. “This study, in addition to the state’s continuing work in the Mohawk River Basin, will provide us with the science we need to inform recommendations to mitigate future flooding events and target our investments to protect the communities, ecology, and businesses of the region.”
The study will guide the direction of the state’s flood response efforts, hazard mitigation plans, flood mitigation projects, and include the evaluation of information about recent and historic flooding events, identification of critical areas subject to flood risk and ice-jam occurrence, and a comprehensive hydraulic assessment and development of flood and ice-jam hazard mitigation alternatives for each high-risk area within the main-stem Mohawk River corridor. DEC’s Mohawk River Basin Program will be responsible for completing the study in cooperation with expert consultants.
In recent years, the Mohawk River Watershed has been increasingly impacted by the effects of climate change. The river has experienced extreme weather that is increasing the severity and frequency of flooding, including destructive flooding caused by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee in 2011, and in 2013, when a severe precipitation event and subsequent flooding occurred in Herkimer, Oneida, and Montgomery counties. In addition, the Mohawk River Watershed has dealt with ice jams and resulting winter flooding in 2018.
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