On behalf of the Commission, DRBC Operations Branch Head Richard Tortoriello accepted a "Special Recognition Award" presented by the Water Resources Association of the Delaware River Basin at its 18th Annual Recognition and Dinner Program on April 12, 2000, in Philadelphia.
The plaque is enscribed: "Water Resources Association Special Recognition Award, Presented to Delaware River Basin Commission Ice Jam Project, For the Successful Completion of the Ice Jam Project to Protect the Persons and Property of the Delaware River Basin, April 12, 2000."
The dinner program included the following background information as part of the award presentation:
"Flooding from ice jams has caused death and destruction along some reaches of the Delaware River. In February of 1981, ice lodged against Mashipacong and Thirsty Deer Islands downstream of Port Jervis, N.Y. creating a frozen dam which backed up the river, its level rising 14.5 feet in one hour. Huge blocks of ice were forced over the river's banks, causing $15 million in damage (1981 dollars) and claiming one life.
As a result of the flooding, the Delaware River Basin Commission, through Congress, requested that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conduct a study of the problem. The Commission later agreed to act as the project's sponsor after the Corps indicated that the creation of an ice diversion channel on Mashipacong Island was environmentally sound and economically feasible.
The ice escape chute was created by clearing trees along a 200-foot wide path along the island's back channel and the project has been deemed successful. There was even the creation of a freshwater wetland mitigation area. This project shows how cooperation between DRBC, the federal government and local government can solve a costly and deadly problem."
Contact: Rick Fromuth, (609) 883-9500 ext. 232, for more information about the ice jam project.
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