(Utica, NY – Aug. 2015) State Senator Joseph Griffo recently announced that residents and visitors of Hinckley Reservoir will soon be able to sign up to be alerted anytime there is a change in water levels.
The Canal Corporation has informed Griffo that they will soon be extending to the Hinckley Reservoir their existing “Notice to Mariners” notification system, which will send either email or text message alerts to anyone who chooses to sign up for the free service through the Canal Corp’s website.
The “Notice to Mariners” service, already used on the Erie, Champlain, Oswego and Cayuga-Seneca Canals, provides information on Canal openings/closures, water levels, construction, weather-related warnings and other circumstances affecting navigation.
Griffo will further inform the public as soon as the new notification system is fully implemented online for the public to utilize.
Previously, Griffo urged the Canal Corp to develop such a notification system after he was contacted by several constituents who were concerned that water levels at the reservoir had appeared to drop more significantly than normal. Although Griffo was assured that lower water levels were the result of a temporary increase in outflow, the Senator still suggested to Canal Corp officials that there should be a more immediate way to inform the public anytime there is a significant change in water levels at the reservoir.
This more efficient new alert system would no longer require the public to go out of their way to check the Canal Corp’s website anytime they have concerns about the reservoir’s water levels.
“The Hinckley Reservoir serves a number of purposes throughout Central New York, from residential and leisure activities to a primary source of water for surrounding communities, so we all have an interest in knowing the reasons why its water might be dropping at any given time,” said Griffo, R-Rome. “We’ve already seen the troubles that can arise when water levels in the reservoir drop dangerously low, so it is understandable that the public would want immediate assurances and official explanations anytime such a drop occurs. This new alert system will offer the most efficient means to provide those answers and prevent any unnecessary worrying.”