Watershed Assessments for Tompkins County

Since 1983, the Tompkins County Legislature (TCL) has periodically funded the Stream Corridor Restoration & Flood Hazard Mitigation Program (formerly known as the Tompkins County Flood Hazard Mitigation Program) to help Tompkins County property owners minimize property damages associated with future flood events. In 2002, program funds were used to complete a programmatic evaluation of the TCFHMP and to complete flood mitigation needs assessments (pdf) for the Six Mile Creek, Fall Creek, Salmon Creek, and Cayuga Inlet watersheds. Assessments of the other watersheds of Tompkins County are completed as funding allows. Most recently, The Taughannock Creek -- Flood Mitigation Needs Assessment (pdf) was finalized in April, 2011; the Buttermilk Creek Watershed Assessment (pdf) was drafted in 2012.

The intent of this effort is three-fold, to: (1) develop a better understanding of the complexity of and inter-relationships between factors that influence flooding in the respective watersheds of Tompkins County, (2) develop a list of priority flood-related projects (including those related to erosion and sedimentation), and (3) evaluate and make recommendations for the TCFHMP.

The County is now in the process of implementing the Stream Corridor Restoration & Flood Hazard Mitigation Program based on the findings of the watershed assessments and additional input from organizations and agencies. More information about the program is available here (pdf). For more information about this effort, contact the Tompkins County Planning Department at (607) 274-5560 or E-mail us.