At 12:30pm on Wednesday, May 9, the Gilboa Dam alert sirens will be tested.
The sirens, which were heavily damaged during flooding from Tropical Storm Irene last year, were finally repaired in April, to the tune of $220,000. The Schenectady Daily Gazette reports that in light of last year's catastrophic floods, Schoharie County is considering activating the sirens for flooding, not just the risk of dam failure:
[Schoharie County Emergency Management Director Colleen] Fullford said she expects county officials to discuss whether to revise the siren plan in place. Up until now, the public has been told that the sirens will be activated when the Gilboa Dam is at risk of imminent failure or when there’s an emergency that could result in dam failure.
“We’ve never used it for a high water event, so if we start changing things without a lot of public notice, then people are going to get scared,” Fullford said. “We are thinking about adding a third level to our plan that would include major flooding; that way, we can make sure, like in this event, people got out.”
