Minor flooding is occuring in several streams around the Delaware River Basin. Lehigh River at Walnutport is just above flood stage this evening. For a great resource to find out what is going around the watershed go to the Delaware River Basin Commission flood page here.

The Delaware River at Riegelsville is rising (just under 8.oo', double the level this morning, but at this point in time it doesn't look like it will reach flood stage (22'), unless we get two more days like today.

River rats, meaning those who live close enough to the river to see it lapping at the back door should join DRBC's Automated Email Flood Warning System. The system retrieves daily river forecasts from eight stations around the watershed. "If the forecasted stages exceed the station-specific Flood Action Level, the program generates and sends an e-mail warning to a List Server. By subscribing to the List Server, individuals can get e-mail warnings about NWS-forecasted flood events on the main stem Delaware River, the Lehigh River, and the Schuylkill River."

Today I met with representatives from the Musconetcong Watershed Association, NOAA, American Rivers, and USDA - NRCS to tour dams on the lower Musky below Hackettstown down to Finesville. We discussed a tentative plan that would envision putting together cost estimates to remove or breach the bottom 4 dams, one of which is over 30' high, a huge dam for such a small river, located in the gorge above the Warren Glen paper mill. My role was to tell them where all the dams are located. There is no better way to learn about dams than to frequently canoe the stream in question.

The NJDEP database lists several that have been completely washed away. The Musconetcong Wild and Scenic River Management Plan calls for a comprehensive program to remove dams to improve water quality, reduce flooding, and restore migratory fish to the river (American Shad).