The “Bowl of Doom” is a nickname given by local water scientists to an area on a curved bank of the Stony Clove Creek in Chichester, north of Phoenicia, said Cory Ritz, Stream Project Manager for Ulster County Soil and Water Conservation District (UCSW). Over the years, flooding along the creek has exposed a steep hillside of loose soil and rock that washes into the water whenever it rains. This material tends to settle where the water slows down, right under Phoenicia’s Main Street bridge, contributing to flooding on Main Street during three storms since October 2010.

Ritz spoke during a December 9 tour of Shandaken flood remediation sites, most of them overseen by Ashokan Watershed Stream Management Program (AWSMP), which is funded by New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Much of UCSW’s local work is also through a contract with DEP. While the DEP’s primary objective is maintaining the quality of New York City’s drinking water as it flows through the upstate area, flood prevention is seen as compatible with that goal.

Local residents have expressed anger at the state and city for the flooding, blaming them for neglecting to maintain streams over the past two decades.