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Bucks County commissioners call for lower water levels

BUCKS COUNTY Commissioners call for lower water levels DOYLESTOWN The Bucks County commissioners reawakened a years-old hot-button topic Wednesday, issuing a resolution asking New York City to lower water levels in three reservoirs to help prevent flooding downstream in the Delaware River.

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BUCKS COUNTY

Commissioners call for lower water levels

DOYLESTOWN The Bucks County commissioners reawakened a years-old hot-button topic Wednesday, issuing a resolution asking New York City to lower water levels in three reservoirs to help prevent flooding downstream in the Delaware River.

The resolution - which will be sent to the governors of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware, as well as the mayor of New York - asks those states to urge that those reservoirs be kept around 90 percent capacity.

Several years ago, a county-sponsored task force recommended such limits to prevent downstream surges after major floods wreaked havoc in Bucks County in 2004, 2005, and 2006.

Commissioners Charles H. Martin and Diane M. Ellis-Marseglia said that the new resolution came after several local communities, including New Hope, revisited the issue and sought support from the commissioners.

The resolution has not yet won support of other public officials, they said.

Former Gov. Ed Rendell had been involved in similar efforts while in office.

The water levels in the three reservoirs are currently between 86.7 percent and 95.6 percent of capacity, according to records from the New York Department of Environmental Protection. - Chris Palmer

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