Jefferson County Residents Now Can Receive E-Warnings on Flooding

Senator’s Request Leads To NY ALERT For Black River High Water, Flooding

State Senator Patty Ritchie today announced that regulators who control the flow of the Black River have agreed to her request to join New York’s instant alert system to give homeowners and businesses early warning in the event of flooding or other emergencies.

“I am very pleased that homeowners and businesses on the Black River now have a system that can provide them with a warning when there’s a possibility of flooding or other emergencies. After I visited businesses and families that were disrupted by last spring’s historic high waters, I asked the Hudson River-Black River Regulating District to insure that in the future people could sign up for early warnings, ” Senator Ritchie said. “I want to thank them and the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services for working together to make sure families can now find out what they need to know to keep themselves and their businesses safe.”

Last May, Senator Ritchie urged the regulating district’s staff to work with the NY-ALERT system to provide residents and businesses with a notification system after she visited flood-impacted homes and businesses near Carthage in Jefferson County. At the time, the Black River had reached levels not seen in nearly 50 years.

“The recent flooding in Jefferson and St. Lawrence Counties and, even more so, recent weather-related events across the country, remind us all of the importance of early warning and timely, accurate information to protect lives and property in a disaster,” said Sen. Ritchie. “Thankfully, we have not had the problems faced by other parts of the state or nation, but all of these events show the value of being prepared, and staying informed.”

The NY-ALERT system issues automated alerts through email, text messages and even phone calls to homes and businesses that enroll in the free program. More than 6 million New Yorkers have signed onto NY-ALERT, which was launched in 2007 and distributes messages related to a broad range of conditions and emergencies, from school closing to traffic jams, weather advisories and even emergencies involving nuclear plants.

SIGN UP FOR NY-ALERT BY CLICKING HERE. Follow these instructions to customize alerts to your community.

Once you have logged in, go to the My Alerts Home Page and press the “My Locations of Interest” button where you can “Add A New Location of Interest.”

By choosing the “Geo Political Jurisdiction,” you can check “Jefferson County.”

At Routine Notifications, you will be able to subscribe to Hudson River Black River Regulating District Dam Waterway Safety alerts.