DEC Plans Extensive Study of Flood Prone Moodna Creek

Moodna Creek (Source Mid-Hudson News)

ALBANY – The State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will begin a study Senator James Skoufis proposed last year to study the flood-prone Moodna Creek.

Due to the extensive network of tributaries in the Moodna Creek watershed, the Resilient NY flood study will incorporate a wide range of communities in eastern and central Orange County that are subject to repetitive and severe flooding and have experienced significant flood damage. The study will analyze the causes and develop effective and ecologically sustainable hazard mitigation projects for the affected municipalities.

“I’ll never forget the catastrophic flooding that has occurred in our communities time and time again, and with the increasing frequency of natural disasters, we can’t sit idly by,” Skoufis (D, Orange County) said. “My office pushed for the Moodna Creek Watershed to be included in DEC’s Resilient NY study, which will also provide recommendations for actionable steps municipalities can take for mitigation and funding options. Extreme weather isn’t going away, so we have to be far more proactive to best prepare ourselves for the next big storm.”

To address and prevent damage caused by major flooding events, the study will undertake a comprehensive hydraulic analysis and geomorphic assessment of the watershed to determine the cause(s) of flooding. It will evaluate and recommend flood mitigation strategies at specific locations that will be effective at reducing flooding throughout the Moodna Creek watershed, state officials said.

The Moodna Creek study will create a detailed strategy or “roadmap” for resolving existing infrastructure and ecosystem issues that perpetuate chronic flooding — not only identifying the issues in affected municipalities, but actionable steps for mitigation, plus recommended funding sources, as well as providing municipalities with guidance on applying for that funding

Recommendations could include specific design guidance for bridge or culvert replacements, floodplain, wetland, and/or stream restoration, flood buyouts, structure elevations, and more. More than 60 watersheds in the state are already participating in the Resilient NY Program.

Source: Mid-Hudson News