Senator Mannion And Assemblyman Stirpe Introduce New Legislation To Mitigate Persistent Flooding In Upstate Communities

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SYRACUSE, NY – Senator John W. Mannion and Assemblyman Al Stirpe today announced new legislation to mitigate persistent flooding in Central New York and Mohawk Valley communities, including in Cross Lake and along the Seneca River.

The legislation adopts recommendations from the recent report issued by the Upstate Flood Mitigation Task Force, a panel of hydrologists, emergency management experts, and other stakeholders whose work was enabled by earlier legislation sponsored by Mannion and Stirpe and signed by the governor.

Mannion and Stirpe are calling for a complete mapping of the Oswego River Watershed using the Hydrologic Engineering Center River Analysis System (HEC-RAS,) which is the technique and methodology endorsed by the Task Force and what’s used by the Army Corps of Engineers. They are also proposing the creation of a centralized Oswego River Basin Authority to improve water and discharge management.

Senator John W. Mannion said, “Big problems like persistent flooding in Upstate communities require big solutions. Creating an authority will centralize water and discharge management across the five thousand square mile Oswego River Watershed. Deploying advanced mapping and modeling technologies will give us a new understanding of the watershed and that knowledge can be applied to flood mitigation, environmental conversation, agriculture, and recreational uses. This has been the strategy from the start – activate the dormant Upstate Flood Mitigation Task Force, fill it with experts, study the problem and issue recommendations. Now we move ahead in a new phase, and I look forward to working with Assemblyman Stirpe and other stakeholders to advance these well-researched and well-thought-out proposals into formal action and state policy.”

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