“Behind the Eight Ball” – John Conway Discusses Flooding and History in New York State

Flooding has been a major issue nationwide this summer, and New York has been no exception. From the flooding on the Saw Mill River Parkway and the Cross Bronx Expressway to the most recent flash flood warning for Orange County last week, Governor Kathy Hochul declared a State of Emergency for counties in Downstate New York on July 31st.

With many looking for solutions, Sullivan County Historian John Conway is speaking about the importance of looking to our past in order to address our problems now.

“This is not something that we’re facing for the first time,” said Conway. “This is not something that’s going to go away. Flooding has been with us forever.”

Climate change is a contributing factor to flash floods, through snow melt where runoff from melted snowpacks flows at higher rates down mountains and into rivers. As a result, rivers in mountainous areas in the Northeast, Upper Midwest, and Pacific Northwest regions of the United States overflow even faster when rains come.

For Sullivan County and the Upper Delaware River Region specifically, Conway cites how overdevelopment of land, hyper reliance on tourism, deforestation, and the compacting of soil have put the Catskills at higher risk for flash flooding.

Conway has lived on the banks of the Delaware River for over 40 years and works to preserve the history of the region through the non-profit organization, The Delaware Company.  With rollbacks in federal funding to national parks, museums, and the National Weather Service, he worries that the memories of some of the worst floods the Catskills and Hudson Valley have faced could be washed away, and with them the solutions the region took to solve them.

“ For many years, generations really, mankind has acted with this sense of impunity that we can do whatever we want to do,” said Conway. “We have control over nature and that the consequences can be handled. And I’m not so sure that’s a wise way to proceed.”

Listen for more, and also visit The Delaware Company’s website to learn more about how you can support the maintenance of historic landmarks along the Delaware River.

Image: Roebling Bridge over the Delaware River that extends from Minisink Ford, New York to Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania during the Floods in April 2005 (Credit: National Weather Service, Courtesy of  United States Geological Survey)