Major flooding across Adirondack North Country as “tremendous” amount of water hits rivers

As I write this at 6pm, town and village officials in Saranac Lake are huddled on the bridge over the Saranac River.

They’re trying to manage a massive glut of water sluicing down out of the Saranac chain of lakes.  I spoke with residents and business owners along the river who have already been forced to evacuate.

Low sandbag walls have been erected around some structures, but water is already seeping through

According to the Department of Environmental Conservation, flooding has struck from the village here all the way to the outflow at Lake Champlain.  Here’s the latest from state officials, talking about the challenge they face:

Communities below the water control structures want as much water as possible to be held by dams, while communities above the structures want as much water as possible released.

The current amount of water in the system is tremendous and it is impossible to escape flooding impacts, water managers can only work to minimize and balance the impacts. DEC is working with the Village of Saranac Lake to ensure that balance in the upper reaches of the Saranac River.

Water levels are so high that state officials say they could overtop the locks on the upper Saranac River, which “could result in heavy damage to the locks.”

Flooding has also hit Moriah, Ausable Forks, and other communities.  Johnsburg town supervisor Sterling Goodspeed told the Glens Falls Post Star that “eight or nine” town roads had been damaged.

With the help of our partners Chris Knight at the Adirondack Daily Enterprise and Chris Morris at WNBZ, we’ll have much more tomorrow morning during Morning Edition and the 8 O’clock Hour.

Tags: flooding