Soil and Water Conservation District announces assessment phase

The Tioga County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) recently announced the Susquehanna Regional River Initiative Watershed Assessment Phase. The purpose of this project is to establish a regional river initiative to build resilience and capacity in the Broome, Tioga and Village of Sidney NY Rising Communities. 

The project will link the local communities together with a consistent comprehensive watershed approach to understand and address flooding issues in the Upper Susquehanna River. 

The initiative will include two main project components – an education and outreach to municipal officials, county legislators and residents of the NYRCR Tioga, Broome and Sidney communities; and Watershed Assessment and modeling to identify natural infrastructure practices for implementation.

The Watershed Assessment and modeling phase began in the communities within the Town and Village of Nichols and the Town of Owego the week of Oct. 15. This phase of assessments specifically targeted the following watersheds: Huntington Creek and Monkey Run and the Apalachin Creek in the Town of Owego; and Wappasening Creek and Hunt / Smith Creek in the Town of Nichols.

The purpose of this assessment is to inventory and evaluate a number of physical factors including eroding stream banks, damaged segments of streams, bridges, culverts, and debris jams. 

The inventory and evaluation will consist of SWCD employees and associates physically investigating the culverts, streams and tributaries and mapping the above criteria. This information will be used in the future to identify and target funding for cost effective practices that can be implemented to reduce flooding impacts in the watershed. This stage is for assessment and identifying of priorities only. There is currently no funding for immediate implementation.

Designs will be based on an integrated, multiple barrier approach across the watershed, looking at implementing practices in the headwaters, across the landscape and finally at the streams edge. The result will provide a chance to reduce the effects of floodwaters by de-synchronizing flows, infiltrating runoff, and spreading flow into the natural flood plain. 

Watershed assessments will look to identify project areas that will focus on the natural infrastructure in the watershed to address storm water and implement projects that promote this approach. Wetland creation and restoration with flood attenuation, green infrastructure, natural stream rehabilitation and floodplain enhancement through berm removal along with installation of visual landmark flood signs to educate residents. These are a few examples of natural infrastructure projects they would identify and implement. 

However, in the longer term the watershed assessments will identify numerous cost-effective practices and projects that can be undertaken by a community in order to improve resiliency and reduce flooding. The plans will be ready for future funding and allow for rapid implementation as additional funding becomes available.