Oswego, NY -- The alarms on the Oswego River are supposed to sound before the river water rises suddenly, the result of water being released by hydro-electric stations along the waterway. Signs along the river warn fishermen to leave when they hear the alarm. The alarm sounded Tuesday an hour and a half before the water came rushing down...
A sign on the Oswego River warning fishermen to leave the water when they hear the siren.Oswego, NY -- The alarms on the Oswego River are supposed to sound before the river water rises suddenly, the result of water being released by hydro-electric stations along the waterway.
Signs along the river warn fishermen to leave when they hear the alarm.
The alarm sounded Tuesday an hour and a half before the water came rushing down river, said Francis Hoefer Jr., who was fishing along the shore behind the Ritz Restaurant Tuesday morning.
“An hour and a half is ridiculous,” Hoefer said. “By that time, people could be showing up to fish and not heard it.”
The rushing water swept away two fishermen from Chemung County. Leonard Nichols, 45, of Wellsburg, died. Clifford Luther, 52, of Horseheads, is in critical condition at Oswego Hospital. Their companions, Wayne Weller of Watkins Glen, Schuyler County, and David Robinson of Hancock, Delaware County, both 46, clung to a sign pole before being rescued by Oswego city fire personnel.
Hoefer said the alarm sounded about 11 a.m., he was told by another fisherman. The 911 call alerting officials that the four Southern Tier men were in trouble came in at 12:44 p.m.
Police and officials with Brookfield Renewable Power, the Massachusetts company that operates the nearby hydropower plant, both say audible alerts were given in the area regarding the risk of rising water. But they are investigating the time frame to see when the sirens sounded and when the water level increased.
Julie Smith-Galvin, the company’s director of communications, said “we expect to have results of the investigation in a matter of days.”
Jeff Auser, Brookfield’s chief dam safety officer, said the company knows the alarm did sound. Now, officials need to find out “when did it sound, how long did it sound and how many times did it sound.”
Hoefer is an avid fisherman who said he spends lots of time along the west side of the Oswego River. He said sirens normally go off 15 minutes to 30 minutes before water is released to raise the river’s water level.
“They sound it and give you enough time to get out of the water,” he said. “But it’s so sporadic. Sometimes they sound the siren and the water goes down a foot and a half.”
When the plant releases water, a siren sounds and a recorded message warns fishermen. Signs posted along the river warn anglers to “exit water immediately” whenever the siren sounds.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is in charge of regulating hydroelectric plants like the Varick Hydropower Generation Facility owned by Brookfield on the Oswego River.
But Tamara Young-Allen, speaking for the commission, said each individual company is mandated to come up with its own rules for timing of sirens when water levels are increased.
“There are no standard guidelines for these alerts,” she said. “We have told the licensee (Brookfield Power) to provide us with a public safety incident report by Oct. 6 to review the situation. It will include whether they provided adequate warning and any enhancements that should be made.”
Hoefer thinks water levels shouldn’t have been changed at all Tuesday. The Oswego area saw less than a half inch of rain Tuesday.
“They shouldn’t be releasing water this time of year anyway,” Hoefer said. “They know it’s salmon season and they know there’s hundreds of fishermen down there in the water.”
Contact Debra J. Groom at dgroom@syracuse.com, 470-3254 or 251-5586.