NORWICH – More than two years after devastating floods washed through the area, local agencies are working to ensure that the community will be well informed if future disasters occur.

On Monday, City of Norwich Emergency Management Officer A. Wesley Jones met with employees of High Sierra Electronics to begin installing three stream gauges in and around the Norwich area. Jones has been working to obtain and install the gauges since the city received approximately $27,000 in grant funding from the Automated Flood Warming System Program administered through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in June of 2007. Norwich was one of only five grantees nationwide to receive funding during the last round.

Gauges are being mounted on area bridges covering the Canasawacta Creek and the Chenango River. The gauges will send water level information by radio to the Emergency Operations Center. The gauges also allow the information to be posted on a web site and sent to the National Weather Service. The two gauges placed on the Canasawacta Creek will also record precipitation information.