Reservoir Slog: Residents Complain About the Extended Drawdown of the Toronto Reservoir

This story originally appeared in The River Reporter by Patrick Kelly | The River Reporter

BETHEL, NY — Around Bethel’s Toronto Reservoir, the private docks and the public boat launch now connect to open fields, not watery shores. Dried-up mollusks litter the ground. Tall grass and plant life grows. What little water is still there exists in meager brooks and streams feeding into the diminished reservoir.

A drawdown of the water level caused by an issue with the reservoir’s dam has left the reservoir unusable for recreation for several years. Residents who live near the Toronto Reservoir have taken issue with the projected timeline of the repair, and have called for an expeditious resolution to the issue.

The Toronto Reservoir is part of the Mongaup River Hydroelectric system managed by Eagle Creek Hydro-power (ECHP). The reservoir has had its water level lowered for over three years due to an issue with the reservoir’s earthen dam.

The lowering of the water levels was done so that ECHP engineers could begin to assess the extent of the issue with the dam, and plan to make changes, and was done after consulting the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and other experts, said ECHP representatives.

“As part of routine dam safety evaluations in May 2023, ECHP identified an area of concern in Toronto Dam,” a representative for ECHP said. “In coordination with FERC and independent dam safety experts, ECHP reduced reservoir levels to lower hydraulic pressure on the dam while our engineers investigate the issue and explore all options. The preservation of public safety is the company’s top priority and guides our response to this situation.”

A representative from FERC said the drawdown was “necessary to minimize risk until work is completed to resolve these issues.” They also said that “safety remains FERC’s top priority when overseeing jurisdictional hydroelectric projects.”

As a result of ECHP lowering the water levels, recreational use has been disallowed. Jeff Tauber, a Bethel resident who lives on the reservoir, said that the reservoir has been unable to be used by residents for several years, impacting the broader community.

“We really haven’t had the ability to use the lake. I have a boat, and we can’t put it in the water due to the low lake levels,” Tauber said. “No one in the community can put a boat in, because the launches are now not accessible.”

Tauber also had a significant problem with the timeline for the restoration. In emails between Tauber and ECHP that were shared with the River Reporter, ECHP said they won’t begin construction until late 2027, leaving residents without the lake for recreational use for a significant time.

“It’s just a mystery to the community why it’s taking four to five years, and in the meantime, there’s really no recreational use,” Tauber said. “I find it hard to believe that it would take almost five years.”

ECHP claims that the reason for the extended timeline is because of safety concerns. “The timeline is driven by the need for carefully engineered investigations to explore the inner structure of this type of dam and by the federal and state regulatory reviews that are required for every step of the work,” ECHP said. “ECHP is working closely with FERC and other agencies to move forward safely. Every action the company takes is informed by its commitment to ensuring public safety.”

Adam Hait, another resident who lives on the reservoir, takes umbrage with that argument. Hait claims that due to the design of the larger Mongaup River Hydroelectric system, there would be little concern for public safety if something were to happen to the dam.

“The water drains to Swinging Bridge, and then Swinging Bridge drains to the Delaware,” Hait said. “So I’m not so sure, even if the dam failed completely, that there’d be any concern for public safety.”

The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) says in its guidance for dam owners that any seepage “should be controlled to prevent erosion of the embankment, or foundation, or damage to concrete structures.”

Furthermore, the Association of State Dam Safety Officials also says that dam failure can cause “catastrophic effect on downstream areas.”

Hait also said that the drawdown has had a negative effect on local wildlife, such as any fish or aquatic life that died due to the drawdown, and wondered why ECHP didn’t lower the levels in a way that was more conscious of that.

“I don’t understand why they can’t lower the water levels in an appropriate manner, where they don’t kill all the shellfish, let alone all of the wildlife that exists around this reservoir, that is adversely affected by the lowering of the water,” Hait said.

Tauber also wrote to the governor’s office about the reservoir. The letter was passed on to the DEC, which informed Tauber that it had no control over the situation.

Other local elected officials acknowledged that while they are aware of the drawdown, their hands are tied. Bethel Town Supervisor Daniel Sturm said that the town sympathizes with residents who have been affected by the drawdown, but that “the town does not have much say.”

“We certainly support getting it filled as soon as possible,” Sturm said. “Usually we don’t have much say, and we feel for the people that are affected by it; we do want to see it filled.”

With the current timeline for repairs and the lack of local control, residents feel like they’ve lost agency. “At this point, it just doesn’t make any sense,” Hait said. “Nothing’s happening, and we don’t feel like we have any ability to make something happen, and that’s very frustrating.”

Tauber feels that no matter who takes action, the process must be sped up and action must be encouraged. “The bottom line is…whether it’s a New York State politician or someone else, we need to get Eagle Creek to move on this.

Image: The Toronto Reservoir as seen from the public boat launch. (Patrick Kelly/River Reporter)