Pawelski, left, Sen. Charles Schumer, survey the damage caused by
Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. Rain from the downgraded hurricane
pushed the Wallkill out of its banks, flooding much
of the Black Dirt region.
PINE ISLAND – The Wallkill River has been neglected for decades, says black dirt onion farmer Christopher Pawelski, a farming advocate on the state and federal levels. He is calling for the river to be dredged.
Pawelski is concerned about the potential of another storm induced flood like those which wiped out the farmland in 2011. He doesn’t want politicians and farmers to contract “flood amnesia,” as he calls it.
“I want it deepened and widened, clear out the sediment and fill,” he said. “If you go on Wikipedia and type in ‘Wallkill River,’ what comes up is a picture that says, ‘islands or trees and rivers,’ and there should be no islands and trees in that river; that’s just absurd. It’s just a long-neglected river, neglected for 70 or 80 years and should be addressed comprehensively.”
Pawelski and other area farmers have been lobbying state and federal officials to allocate sufficient funds to dredge the river and clear out the obstructions to prevent any future flooding.
