With an eye towards ensuring Hudson Valley communities not only build back following severe storms, but build back better, Senator James Skoufis has secured a Resilient NY Watershed study through the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), his office said this week.
This study will seek to identify the causes of flooding within the Moodna Creek Watershed as well as develop effective and ecologically sustainable hazard-mitigation projects appropriate for the affected municipalities. Due to the extensive network of tributaries within the Moodna Creek Watershed, the study would encapsulate a wide range of communities in eastern and central Orange County that have generated repetitive losses.
“Having just observed the one year anniversary of last July’s catastrophic storm that devastated eastern Orange County, and mindful of the increasing frequency of flooding in so many local communities, we must not sit idly by,” Skoufis said. “I look forward to the results and recommendations from this study, and I am grateful for the partnership of our colleagues at DEC as well as Assemblyman Eachus’ leadership on local flooding issues. As extreme weather continues to worsen, this is a vital step to ensuring Orange County’s long term safety and sustainability.”
The watershed study will set a detailed roadmap for resolving existing infrastructure and ecosystemic issues that perpetuate chronic flooding – not only identifying the issues at hand in impacted municipalities, but articulating actionable steps for mitigation and recommending funding sources, as well as providing municipalities guidance on applying for that funding. Recommendations could include design guidance for bridge or culvert replacements, removal of naturally-occurring landmasses, restoration of wetlands, and more.
The DEC will begin the Moodna Creek Watershed study in early 2025, engaging a broad coalition of local leaders, engineers, planners, and other stakeholders from the onset.
For more information on the Resilient NY program, visit: https://dec.ny.gov/environmental-protection/water/water-quantity/resilient-ny.