For Those Who Live Near Riverbanks, Rapid Snowmelt Raises Fear
By John Ostapkovich
NEW HOPE, Pa. (CBS) -- Many of us can't wait for the snow to melt, but those close to rivers and streams hope it doesn't happen too fast.
For those who live or work right next to the Delaware River, flooding has been disturbingly frequent.
"Four times in the last four years we had to evacuate this building, and there's fear of it this spring too with concern about snowmelt," says Mike Burns, co-owner of Celt-Iberia Traders.
Riverside resident Gail Pedrick (top photo) once experienced three floods in 21 months.
"We hadn't even gotten (our) countertop in and people were moving furniture out that day for the next flood," she recalls.
Pedrick is fighting a multistate battle to have less water stored in reservoirs in New York State, to provide wiggle room during a major storm.
Martine, the owner of Martine's Riverhouse Restaurant (below), keeps her eyes on the reservoirs, too.
"When they start to overflow and they put that into the Delaware River, and we get Mother Nature with a normal spring thaw, it is devastating," she tells KYW Newsradio.
Three of the eight highest river crests ever recorded at New Hope-Lambertville have been in the last ten years, and each of those recent floods occured when the reservoirs were full.
