Orange County Soil & Water Conservation District

Yesterday and today, the latest phase of Wallkill floodplain bench got put to the test. These two photos taken from the same perspective show the bench right after construction was completed with normal river level and today after about 2.5 inches of rain in 12 hours. Note the trees that are on the river bank, under water in the second photo. Once the bench elevation is reached, the Wallkill can spread across some 260 feet to 'accommodate' flood flows. Around 900 cubic feet per second was coming out of NJ this morning, according to USGS gauging station at Oil City Road.

You've gotta love mulching day, because it usually means you're almost done.

Closing in on completion of Phase 3, Area 1, of the Wallkill Floodplain Bench Project. Need about one more week of good weather to finish the excavation work.

https://www.recordonline.com//sen-metzger-secu/5880951002/ Soil and Water is pleased to see reporting that informs the public about local agricultural issues in this case, about efforts to mitigate flooding in the County’s Black Dirt farming region. Here are a couple of clarifications. 1. It is not practical to prevent flooding. Our flood plain benching project is designed to provide protection from a 10-year return frequency storm, which is about 5.5 inches of rain in ...a 24 hour period. Storms larger than this can be expected to cause damage but not to the level that would occur without the project. Protection for some areas of the Black Dirt before the Project was at the 2-year level or less. 2. Drainage ditches are necessary to farm the Black Dirt. They lower the water table to allow for equipment access and crop growth. They do not contribute to flooding. Deepening of the Wallkill (and other major tributaries) helps contain smaller storm events, but results in increased energy and streambank erosion. When large storms occur that overwhelm the deepened channels, damage to agricultural lands can be expected to be extensive. The benching approach conveys flood flows in safe fashion dissipating energy and reducing streambank erosion. 3. The County of Orange has provided not only funding, but legal services and land surveying services to support these flood mitigation efforts. Progressing additional needed flood mitigation ideally would be supported at multiple levels of government federal, State and local. See more

https://midhudsonnews.com//metzger-delivers-flood-mitigat/ Very glad we were able to keep John Wright on our Board and as our Chairman. His leadership was a major contributor to our ability to keep flood mitigation efforts moving forward.