In order to restore the streambank to reduce flooding and improve water quality, several agencies collaborated including the Army Corps, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, the Village of Delhi and Delhi’s Joint Flood Mitigation Committee, the Delaware County Department of Watershed Affairs, and the Delaware County Soil and Water Conservation District. This action allowed Steele Brook to pass under the bridges and water levels to subside back within the river’s banks.” Municipal workers and local businesses took emergency action, using heavy equipment to remove the woody debris that was blocking the bridges. Floodwater jumped the banks, flowed down main street, and entered residential, businesses, and municipal properties. Two important bridges were almost completely blocked with woody debris that had eroded from the riverbank. Krzyston said, “I witnessed flooding within the Village, stemming from Steele Brook, on two occasions. This debris got lodged under bridges within the village causing the water to over top and cause extreme flooding for the residents and businesses, impacting a population of approximately 3,100. During storm events, trees and clay sediment washed down from the banks, into the stream, and down the waterway. If a streambank is eroding and trees and clay sediment are falling down the streambank and into the waterway, this can reduce the quality of the water that will eventually become the public’s drinking water and it can also cause flooding.Ī portion of Steele Brook’s streambank was showing a great deal of erosion. * See sidebar on New York City Watershed System. The West Branch flows into the Cannonsville Reservoir, one of several, that supplies almost 97 billion gallons of water to the New York City water supply system. Steele Brook flows into the West Branch Delaware River that is located in the heart of the Village of Delhi. This water eventually gets stored in reservoirs, a place where water is collected and kept for use when wanted, such as to supply a city. Army Corps of Engineers said, “This program funds projects that are protecting the water quality of New York State’s watersheds that provide drinking water to millions of New York City residents and businesses.”Ī watershed is an area of land that catches rain and snow that drains or seeps into a marsh, stream, river, lake, or groundwater. Rifat Salim, project manager, New York District, U.S. The Steele Brook Streambank Stabilization Project is one of many the Army Corps has performed under its New York City Watershed Environmental Assistance Program. We will be retuning often,” said Krzyston. My youngest looked around and said it felt like we were in a National Park. When we entered, they were amazed that they had never seen this hidden gem that is right up the road. I was excited to bring my boys – ages 13 and 15 – back to the same park where my parents had brought me. “Now the park is more accessible and more beautiful than it ever was before. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District, restored Steele Brook’s banks and as a result, there is less flooding, improved water quality, and it’s giving new life to Reservoir Park. Today he’s a Member of Council with the Town of Delhi and a member of Delhi's Joint Flood Mitigation Committee. This created flooding in the village and made it impossible to even enter the park and it was basically forgotten.”įour decades later, Krzyston is part of a team of people that helped to change this. However, during storm events, extreme eroding of the streambanks caused trees and clay sediment to fall into the stream. It was a special place that people of all ages loved to visit. As a young kid, my parents would take me there to picnic and play in Steele Brook. “I grew up half a mile downstream from Reservoir Park. Matthew Krzyston grew up in the Village of Delhi, a rural community located in Delaware County, New York.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |