By Paul O. Swartz, Executive Director, Susquehanna River Basin Commission

Perhaps you have heard the saying, “Floods often end droughts” or something similar.  That’s not the only time the words “floods” and “droughts” are used in the same breath.

For decades, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission has espoused the virtues of the Susquehanna Flood Forecast and Warning System as the network that allows the National Weather Service to issue timely, life-protecting early warnings as flood waters approach.

What the public might not be aware of is that the stream gages that support the flood warning system are the same ones drought management officials use to monitor drought conditions and determine when drought declarations are needed.  Oh, and by the way, they are also the same stream gages SRBC relies on to suspend regulated water withdrawals when stream flow levels drop.

After an exceptionally hot and dry late spring, drought is on everyone’s minds.  But for the communities still recovering from the tremendous damages inflicted by Tropical Storm Lee in 2011, flooding remains an ever-present issue.

So whether you’re thinking about droughts or floods or both, I cannot stress enough just how incredibly vital the stream gaging network is for the citizens of the Susquehanna basin.  For that reason, SRBC is once again at the forefront urging members of Congress to provide adequate federal funding.

With the next fiscal year – FY 2013 – starting in October, it’s critical that funding be secured now.  As of this date, here’s where the FY 2013 federal funding matter stands for steam gages.

On the U.S. Senate side, Maryland’s senior senator Barbara Mikulski, who is the Chairwoman of the Senate appropriations subcommittee that funds the National Weather Service, added $2 million in the subcommittee’s bill for our Nation’s stream gages that are vital for generating flood forecasting data.  The equivalent subcommittee appropriations bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, however, does not contain a similar provision.  This means that the two bills will need to be reconciled through a conference committee.

In June, we wrote to the Chairman and the Ranking Member of the House’s subcommittee to request support for the Senate provision when the two chambers come together to iron out the differences.

For the Susquehanna basin, which is one of the most flood-prone areas in the Nation, every dollar devoted to flood forecasting means property damages reduced and lives saved.

SRBC thanks Senator Mikulski for her unwavering commitment to flood forecasting, and in particular her recognition of the stream gages that are critical for generating the data needed to forecast floods. 

We now urge the members of the House appropriations subcommittee who will serve on the conference committee to likewise support funding for stream gages.  These stream gages make it possible to monitor and mitigate the damages from the extremes of the hydrologic cycle, be they floods or droughts.

For more information, visit the SRBC’s Flood Forecasting and Warning System webpage.

8/6/2012