Narrowly Avoiding Massive Flooding After Intense Rains, Patrick Murphy led Other Members of Congress in Calling for Caps in New York Reservoirs

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Pennsylvania Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-8th District) called for caps with the New York reservoirs in the aftermath of this week’s rainstorm. Murphy led a bipartisan coalition of Representatives from states along the Delaware River in writing a letter to Major General William Grisoli, the Chair and Federal Representative for the Delaware River Basin Commission. The other signatories include Reps. Robert Andrews (D-NJ), Michael Arcuri (D-NY), Robert Brady (D-PA), Chris Carney (D-PA), Chaka Fattah (D-PA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Paul Kanjorski (D-PA), Joe Sestak (D-PA) and Chris Smith (R-NJ). Murphy, a member of the Delaware River Basin Task Force and leader of a congressional advisory board of 8th district experts and municipalities is committed to preventing and mitigating damage from flooding.

In the letter, Murphy cites the fact that the Delaware River came within inches of overflowing in most areas and actually did overrun its banks in several locations. Murphy called for a “sense of urgency” as residents of this region have lived with the threat of flooding for years. Murphy urged General Grisoli, the four governors and the City of New York to maintain sufficient room in the reservoir to avoid flooding downstream. The letter goes on to say that this is not an issue for one state or one political party, and that through cooperation we can improve the lives all families along the Delaware.

“We may have been lucky this week, but we can’t afford to leave it up to chance,” said Congressman Patrick Murphy. “In order to prevent flooding for all of the families along the Delaware we will need a cooperative effort and that includes relief from the New York reservoirs. We all have to do our part to prevent the devastating damage of a flood and we shouldn’t wait another rainstorm or even another minute to act.”

Full text of the letter below:

April 18, 2007

Major General William T. Grisoli
Chair and Federal Representative
Delaware River Basin Commission
25 State Police Drive
P.O. Box 7360
West Trenton, NJ 08628-0360

Dear General Grisoli:

This week’s severe storm throughout the Northeast served as a stark reminder that we must immediately address flooding along the Delaware River. The river came within inches of overflowing in most areas and overran its banks at several points. For our constituents living along the river, this has caused great anxiety and concern. If this were an isolated incident, we would not approach you with the same sense of urgency. Unfortunately, our residents have lived through three floods in three years. We are concerned that if current practices are maintained, further flooding is inevitable.

While New York’s Delaware River reservoirs were not originally designed as flood mitigation tools, it is clear that changes to the reservoirs’ operation could significantly reduce flood damages downstream. For this reason we urge the four governors and the City of New York to take the significant but necessary step of maintaining sufficient room in the reservoirs to protect against flooding downstream.

The argument has been made that such a step would represent mere inches downstream. During this week’s storm, inches meant the difference between road closures and evacuations. To the residents who can sleep in their own beds and will not need to file flood insurance claims, inches matter.

We recognize that an issue with so many interests at stake cannot be solved by one party alone. To that end, we are eager to discuss any concerns and work through them together. Through cooperation, and yes, compromise, we can achieve results that benefit families all along the Delaware. This week we avoided serious flooding, but we do not want to rely on luck in the future.

We appreciate your consideration of our request and look forward to an open dialogue. You can count on our continued support for this and all efforts to improve life along the Delaware River.

Sincerely,

Cc:
Cathleen Curran Myers
Lisa P. Jackson
John A. Hughes
Carol R. Collier
# # #

For Immediate Release, April 18, 2007
Contact: Adam Abrams, (202) 225-4276