On September 8, 2025, the Town of Shandaken Town Board heard a report from consulting firm SLR on the results of new computer modeling to identify solutions to flooding in the hamlet of Phoenicia. The town hired SLR to update a 2016 analysis and further explore combinations of actions that could reduce large-scale flooding in Phoenicia. The project was funded through a grant from the Ashokan Watershed Stream Management Program.
View a pdf of SLR’s presentation to the Town Board here:
One option SLR explored in detail was replacement and enlargement of the Main Street Bridge over the Stony Clove Creek combined with the enhancement of existing floodplains. Floodplains are the low, flat areas adjacent to stream channels that receive water during high flows. Floodplain enhancements widen and deepen floodplains so they can move more water faster through a location. Climate change is already causing more frequent “intense” precipitation events, such as fast, hard rains that can cause rapid rises in river flows. Floodplain enhancements allow rivers to carry more flood water without spilling into developed areas.
The enlargement of bridges and culverts is another measure that can prevent water from rising and “backing-up” over roadways and onto nearby properties. In Phoenicia, a substantial amount of flooding in the business district is caused by water leaving the Stony Clove Creek above the Main Street Bridge.
SLR’s modeled solutions to flooding are conceptual and hypothetical, but they do indicate the potential to improve Phoenicia’s resilience to flooding. The identified actions would need to be further designed and explored for their feasibility. Fortunately, unique funding opportunities currently exist to design and construct flood mitigation solutions in the Catskills.
The town will now undertake the hard work of figuring out which options are most feasible by bringing stakeholders to the table to discuss implementation steps. Many actions require willing landowner participation, government agency involvement, and multiple implementation steps to realize the benefits. But the long-term effort may be worthwhile – the future of Phoenicia could be shaped by the rivers that flow through the hamlet.