Playing Chicken with the Water Supply . . .
This is not an unprecedented drought . . . if drought is even an appropriate word . . . but the water level in Hinckley Reservoir is at an all time low. Canal Corp. has now decided to switch from Hinckley and draw more on other reservoirs. Per the OD:
Near-miss at Hinckley: The move relieved drainage pressure on depleted Hinckley Reservoir, where outflow has been cut more than 60 percent. On Thursday, the reservoir dropped to within 3 feet of the point at which drinking water for Mohawk Valley Water Authority customers might have been disrupted, the state said.
Within 3 feet? After dropping 11 feet this past month? That’s too close for comfort!
Canal Corp. certainly has a bone to pick with the Mohawk Valley Water Authority’s failure to replenish the flow with water from its own (now demolished) reservoir . . . but playing with the safety of 130,000 people is a bit over-the-top don’t you think? Not to mention that water levels in the West Canada Creek are now reported as going below 160 CFS — the minimum needed for maintaining aquatic life. Ever do an environmental impact statement on that move, Canal Corp.? How about our environmental laws? How about the riparian rights of people living along West Canada Creek? Did the state condemn the entire flow of the West Canada (minus the reserve for the Water Authority) so it could dry the creek up? That is doubtful.
If the Canal Corp. is trying to prove a point in its dispute with MVWA, it is losing a lot of potential allies.
Troubled Bridges Over Waters . . . and Other Things…
The Sentinel reports that Oneida County has 180 structurally deficient or functionally obsolete bridges.
In Rome, there were 15 bridges that were given one of the two possible negative grades. Nearly all of the bridges in the city with poor grades are open to traffic.
Curious about Utica . . . or New Hartford?
Go to N.Y.S.D.O.T’s Oneida County list and count ‘em yourself.
Utica Author Plagiarized by Paris Hilton?
That’s the accusation . . . the story is in the LA Times . . .
