Winter Storm Gerri is forecasted to generate 3 to 4 feet of tidal surge on Saturday afternoon, January 13th, similar to recent flooding caused by Winter Storm Finn on Wednesday. The Stevens Flood Advisory System predicts water levels at least 7 feet above Mean Low Low Water (MLLW) at high tide on Saturday afternoon, which is 3PM at Saugerties. Flooding may cover the pavement of Lighthouse Drive at high tide.
Stevens Flood Advisory System forecast for Tivoli/Saugerties showing predicted surge of 3 or greater coinciding with high tide on Saturday with water levels likely 7.5′ MLLW or greater.
The level of water in the tidal portion of Esopus Creek is minimally affected by the shape or depth of the channel bottom at high tide. No matter how deep the channel is, the tide reaches an elevation established by the water surface elevation in the Hudson River as indicated by the Turkey Point tide station.
Storm tide from Winter Storm Finn covered Lighthouse Drive at noon on January 10, 2024.
Winter Storm Finn delivered tidal flooding to the Saugerties waterfront midday on Wednesday, January 10, 2024, and Winter Storm Gerri is forecasted to deliver similar flooding on Saturday. On Wednesday morning, the Battery tide gauge in Manhattan registered a surge over 4 feet at low tide and nearly 3 feet at high tide. This surge continued up the Hudson River, and runoff from over 2″ of rainfall on snow overnight added to the tidal surge. According to the Turkey Point tide gauge, the water level crested above 8 feet, which was over 3.5 feet above normal high tide and slightly higher than flood levels on December 18, 2023. At high tide today at 12:15PM in Saugerties, the pavement of Lighthouse Drive was covered in water.
Turkey Point tide gauge showed the water level crested at 8.09 feet at high tide, nearly 3.7 feet above normal.
Tracking Winter Storm Gerri, the Stevens Flood Advisory System at Davidson Laboratory is forecasting 3 to 4 feet of surge on Saturday afternoon at high tide, bringing the water back up to similar levels as Finn. High tide is at 3PM on Saturday, January 13 at Saugerties.
The level of water in the tidal portion of Esopus Creek is minimally affected by the shape or depth of the channel bottom at high tide. No matter how deep the channel is, the tide reaches an elevation established by the water surface elevation in the Hudson River as indicated by the Turkey Point tide station.
Screenshot of Stevens flood forecast for Tivoli/Saugerties showing surge predictions for Winter Storms Finn and Gerri. For the latest forecast, visit the Stevens Flood Advisory website.
Let your voice be heard for the future of the Lower Esopus Creek!
Join Ulster County and the Lower Esopus Creek Advisory Council for a community workshop, hosted both in-person and virtually, on Tuesday, December 5 to learn more about the current conditions of the Lower Esopus Creek and hear updates about the Stream Management Plan, which is currently under development.
The workshop will be held from 6:00-8:00 PM both in-person at the Ulster County Restorative Justice Center, 733 Broadway, Kingston, NY, 12401, as well as on Zoom.
Please indicate which workshop format you plan to attend (in-person or virtual) when registering.
Join Ulster County for a community walkshop—a walking workshop—at the Marbletown Town Park to discuss the Stream Management Plan for the Lower Esopus Creek. Share your thoughts and input to help shape the Plan, which will be a guide to protect and enhance the creek.
WHERE: MARBLETOWN TOWN PARK 350 Tongore Road, Kingston, NY 12401
WHEN: THURSDAY, AUGUST 31, 10:30-11:30 AM Rain or shine (in case of severe inclement weather the event will be held on Thursday, September 7)
Please register in advance (recommended but not required)
Available for Public Review and Comment: Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Modification of the CATALUM SPDES Permit, and Draft Permit. This includes Proposed Action in Lower Esopus Creek as part of the revised Ashokan Reservoir Release Protocol. Written public comments will be accepted on the Draft EIS until March 16, 2021. A virtual public comment hearing on the permit application and the Draft EIS will be held before at 4:00 P.M. on Thursday, February 4, 2021, through the Webex Events electronic webinar platform. Information on how to provide public comment and participate in the Virtual Public comment hearing can be found here.
Water Keeps Time, a documentary about the Esopus Creek directed by Katie Cokinos and Guy Reed, with Alex Rappoport, videographer and editor. The history and community of Saugerties, New York, interpreted through its relationship to the Esopus Creek and Hudson River. (2020, 32min)
Turbid releases from Ashokan Reservoir have made headlines in Ulster County for the past year-and-a-half since the NYC Department of Environmental Protection reopened the release channel into the Lower Esopus Creek. Now, the dumping of turbid water has garnered attention in New York City, the beneficiary of the turbid releases in the form of clean drinking water. Writing for the New York Times, Mireya Navarro focuses on how the turbid releases exacerbate the century-old upstate-downstate tensions over the city’s water supply. She writes that long-standing disputes over DEP’s operations in Ulster County have reached a “tipping point.” Read the full article: Muddying of Beloved Creek Is Last Straw for Neighbors of a City Reservoir. Navarro also posted a blog entry about the issue at the NYTimes.com Green Blog: Upstate vs. Downstate: A Slow Boil Over Water Issues.
The Ashokan Release Channel was increased today from 0 to approximately 10 MGD. The increase was made in one movement at 3:55 PM. Releases resumed for this evening and will be turned off tomorrow for continued work.
The Lower Esopus Ashokan Reservoir Release Workshop
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
6:30 – 8:30 pm
@ Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County
In their new Kingston Plaza location at 232 Plaza Road
RSVP cbalmer@rcapsolutions.org
Thank you to all who were able to attend the LEWP-sponsored Lower Esopus Positive Action Workshop at the end of January. We are in the process of confirming and revising the priority projects that were identified during the workshop. One of the major activities we have been pursuing since then is the removal of log/ debris jams along the stream. LEWP is helping coordinate a funding application that is being submitted by Ulster County Soil and Water Conservation District in early April. This funding is for debris sites that did not meet the imminent threat criteria required for funding through the Emergency Watershed Protection Program.
For many of you, the biggest concern is with water quality and quantity associated with releases from the Ashokan Reservoir. LEWP is holding a workshop to provide updates on this issue, including details of NYSDEC/ NYCDEP’s Interim Release Protocol; and to document your concerns and identify community action steps. Please save the date and email RSVP to Candace Balmer cbalmer@rcapsolutions.org.
