Flood gages in New York and Vermont saved for now

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January 15, 2012

Anonymous Press-Republican The Press Republican Sun Jan 15, 2012, 08:12 PM EST

By SHAUN KITTLE

Contributing Writer

ALBANY — The imminent shutdown of 18 flood gages in New York and Vermont has been stalled.

A written request to save the gages was sent to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazarby by U.S. Senators Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.).

The funds, which come from money available to Lake Champlain in the Fishery Commission budget, will keep the gages running and buy the senators time to develop a long-term solution for funding the monitoring network.

"This investment ensures that they won't be shut off come March, and I'm going to keep working to make sure they're not at risk of being shut off in the future," Schumer said in a press release.

The gages, nine of which are located in New York, are important for ongoing water quality control monitoring and improvements, and can also save lives by predicting floods when they threaten the region.

According to Leahy and Schumer, the gages were instrumental in staying ahead of such recent disasters as the unprecedented flooding brought on by Tropical Storm Irene that ravaged the region in August and the record-high water levels of Lake Champlain that crippled low lying areas along the lake last May.

For years, Leahy, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has secured year-to-year funding for all 18 gages, which are operated by the U.S. Geological Survey. When budget cuts closed that revenue stream, the fate of the gages was rendered uncertain.

"This close call in losing the monitoring network made clear that these gages pay for themselves many times over, and in so many ways," Leahy said in a press release. "It's a proven and effective network that well serves the people of Vermont and New York."