Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Conservation Director Twan Leenders providing information on Chadakoin River work to City Council (March 27, 2023)

Work to remove debris in the Chadakoin River Basin is expected to begin in April.

Jamestown City Council approved an allocation by the Jamestown Local Development Corporation of $327,925 in American Rescue Plan funds to the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy. These funds are in addition to $35,000 approved by the JLDC board to CWC for work on the Chadakoin River.

CWC Conservation Director Twan Leenders said there are three projects that the funding will be used for, with the first being the debris removal, “It has a number of verticle stumps and all kinds of debris that has accumulated over the decades in there. Two of the different projects involve clearing that out as soon as possible. I just had a meeting yesterday with the DEC and we have the greenlight to actually go ahead with those as soon as possible.”

Leenders said that work will make the basin safe for boaters and other recreation activities. He anticipates starting that work the beginning of April.

Leenders said other projects on the Chadakoin River involves bank restoration on the north shore of the basin as well as both the north and south shores between the Warner Dam and Main Street Bridge, “Those three sections are truly at an imminent risk of collapsing, just as a result of the way the Warner Dam is maintained and has been maintained for decades with the water level purposely kept at a certain height every summer between May 1 and November 1, in part to also control the lake level for Chautauqua Lake for recreational uses.”

Leenders said that water height maintenance has caused the banks above the dam to be undercut by several feet. The project will build out the banks with rocks as well as native vegetation being planted.

He added the last project being funded is the removal of two large beaver dams on Canal Street off Jones & Gifford Avenue. This will help with water flow to alleviate flooding in that area.

Leenders said the bank stabilization projects will likely begin late this Fall when the Warner Dam is opened again. Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District will be contracted to do the work.

Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy’s Twan Leenders presents to the Jamestown Local Development Corporation board (March 15, 2023)

The Jamestown Local Development Corporation board has approved over $360,000 toward Chadakoin River bank stabilization and debris removal.

Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Conservation Director Twan Leenders presented a request for $362,925 in American Rescue Plan funding to remove debris in the Chadakoin River basin as well as do bank stabilization work on the basin’s north shore as well as the north and south shores between the Warner Dam and Main Street Bridge.

Leenders said with the city receiving funding to activate the Chadakoin River basin, there are other projects that should take place first, “It involves items like the existence of tree stumps and vertical spikes in the basin. If you go down to the Chadakoin basin right now, with the water level being as low as it is, you’ll see three, four-foot spikes sticking up out of the sediment. You’ll see tree stumps sticking up. And, you know at this point the dam is still open because it’s on the winter regime, so it’s mostly for flood control just getting water from Chautauqua Lake, melting water, rain water, to feed it out as soon as possible.”

Leenders said the dam will close on May 1, causing water levels in the basin to rise to the same level as Chautauqua Lake and hiding those spikes from boaters. He recommended the debris removal be done as soon as possible given that water levels are low and the DEC will prohibit work in the river come April 1 when fish spawning season arrives.

Leenders said Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District would be contracted to do the work for all of the projects.

JLDC broke up CWC’s request by approving $35,000 for the debris removal project so that that project could begin immediately. They then approved a second resolution for the remaining $327,925 for bank stabilization work.

City Council will review the $327,925 funding request at its work session on Monday, March 20th where Leenders is expected to present on the request.

Council previously approved $277,750 from the Water, Sewer and Broadband funds category to fund phase one of the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Chadakoin River Stabilization Project. Phase one, which involved the CWC removing debris and clearing trees out of the lower Chadakoin River, was completed in Summer 2022.

Chautauqua Institution‘s Symphony Orchestra was granted $50,000 in Downtown Programming funds for a concert at the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts.

The program will be “The Music of Billy Joel featuring Michael Cavanaugh with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra” and is scheduled to take place Thursday, August 17.

This will be the first time the Chautauqua Symphony performs off the Institution’s grounds. Their previously scheduled performance in 2020 was canceled due to the Pandemic and the performance scheduled for August 2022 was canceled after author Salman Rushdie was attacked at the Institution’s Amphiteatre the same day.

Chautauqua Lake

Chautauqua County Watershed Coordinator Dave McCoy said boat owners should prepare to remove their boats and docks from the water prior to that date.

McCoy said the Warner Dam will be opened October 20th and Chautauqua Lake levels will trend downward for the winter season.

The Warner Dam, located along the Chadakoin River in Jamestown is owned by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and is operated by the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities. The Dam is operated following a rule curve and serves a primary role of reducing flood damage to homes surrounding Chautauqua Lake. The BPU opens the dam annually during the fall and winter months in an effort to lower the lake level and reduce potential flooding and shoreline damage by ice sheets in the winter and spring.

McCoy added that maintaining the recreational lake level presented some challenges in 2021 due to an unusually dry spring, which was followed by almost three times the normal amount of rain in July, with high lake levels and flooding caused by intense rainfall events. Since then, the County has had enough rainfall to properly maintain lake levels.

To view current and past U.S. Geological Survey hydrological data on lake levels and Chadakoin River stage and discharge, visit chautauquaalliance.org/resources.