NEWS RELEASE
March 2, 2017

STATE’S RESERVOIRS REDUCE HUDSON RIVER FLOODING

Great Sacandaga Lake and Indian Lake Reservoir Reduce Peak Hudson River Flow by 70%
Stillwater Reservoir Reduce Peak Black River Flow by 13%

The Great Sacandaga Lake and Indian Lake Reservoir provided 1.89 billion cubic feet of water storage on Saturday, February 26, reducing the level of flooding in the Hudson River from the Town of Hadley to Fort Edward. The State’s two Hudson River regulating reservoirs stored more than 14.1 billion gallons of runoff on Saturday, reducing the Hudson River flow by approximately 29,900 cubic feet per second (cfs).

Rainfall and runoff from melting snow on Friday and Saturday caused the Hudson River to peak at a flow rate of 16,200 cfs at Hadley on February 26, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Thanks to the storage capacity of the Great Sacandaga Lake and Indian Lake Reservoir, the Hudson River at Fort Edward never reached flood stage. Without the combined storage capacity of the State’s Hudson River regulating reservoirs, Hudson River flow at Corinth would have peaked at more than 42,600 cfs, and would have resulted in Hudson River flow exceeding major flood stage at Fort Edward on February 26. Operation of the Great Sacandaga Lake significantly reduced potential flood damage to buildings, roads and bridges in Hadley, Corinth, South Glens Falls, Glens Falls, Hudson Falls, and Fort Edward.

Reservoirs in the Regulating District’s Black River Area also experienced increased inflow on Saturday, and stored approximately 0.16 billion cubic feet, or 1.19 billion gallons of runoff. Stillwater Reservoir reduced the Black River flow by approximately 2,000 cfs, and reduced the daily average flow at Watertown by approximately 13%.