02/20/08
PEOPLE LIVING ON DE RIVER MAY BE IN SERIOUS JEOPARDY - Closure of Aqueduct

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Please see the attached Delaware Aqueduct Closure Press Release.

NYC DEP is saying this is "normal" maintenance.

Is it "normal" to close down a tunnel, that when the whole water system is 99.3% full? (NYC DEP website: http://nyc.gov/html/dep/html/drinking_water/maplevels_wide.shtml)

Is it "normal" to close a tunnel when your largest Reservoir, Pepacton, has been in flood stage since 12 noon Feb. 18, and is projected to remain in flood stage until Feb. 20, 7:00 am? (Please read: people directly below the Reservoir are being flooded)

Is it "normal" to close a tunnel when we are in a rainy wet cycle with the threat of imminent flooding because of spilling reservoirs?

If this was "planned" then does that mean NYC DEP is purposely flooding people out?

Isn't that criminally negligent?

Why is the DRBC is allowing this criminally negligent behavior to take place?

Is the repair really planned? Or is this really an emergency repair - and there is something that the NYC DEP is not telling us?

Just because NYC 's water consumption is at it's lowest point, does that mean they should disregard the safety and well being of everyone below their impoundments and put our lives, property and communities in harm's way?


In the Press release: 5th paragraph down..."Excess releases will not be not made during periods of high downriver flow."

Gee, ya think overflowing reservoirs cause the downriver flow to be high?
So, does this means they are NOT releasing water out of Pepacton, because their spilling reservoirs are already causing flooding?

Don't we have the right to have 6 hour updates on what the spilling, releases and flooding situations are?

If you look at the NYC press blurb, the additional reservoir releases from the three reservoirs, at best, only add up to 138 mgd.

Subtract that from 500 (avg) mgd - what they "should" be diverting from the three Reservoirs daily. This leaves us with a build-up daily of 362 mgd - plus what ever naturally flows in from the rivers above the Reservoirs. Add in run off (one inch of run off =16 Billion gallons). Now put all this together on top of overflowing reservoirs.

WHAT DO WE HAVE?

Constant spilling. And if it rains 4- 5 inches in the NYC Delaware River Reservoir Basins, massive flooding.

And NYC "meant to" do this - now - in this way?


J B Mackai
Aquatic Conservation Unlimited

It has been confirmed that emergency repairs are being performed on the Delaware Aqueduct. The Aqueduct Tunnel, from Rondout to the West Branch Tunnel has already been shut down. From the charts on the USGS site, it would appear to be shut down at 12 pm yesterday, Feb 18, 2008. Rondout had been drawn down to about 89%, and as of 12 noon yesterday, then the capacity in Rondout started to climb. The word is the Tunnel will be shut down for 2 weeks. (This may just be an estimate. Length of closure time may depend on what kind of damage they find and how long it takes for them to repair it).

NYC and The DRBC have not issue any kind of press release. Did you forget your obligation to all of us?

We want to know specifics:
Why exactly are you shutting it down.
This shutdown should be classified as an emergency shutdown, since NYC is flooding people out. Has it been classified as such?

We want daily progress reports:
What did NYC find
How they are fixing it
When the emergency repairs will be finished
How what they are doing will impact the communities below the Reservoirs and what NYC is going to do in terms of reparations.

You do realize that with all three NYC DEP Delaware River Reservoirs spilling, that shutting off 400 - 600 mgd "normal" diversions will keep the Reservoirs spilling millions of gallons a day, putting everyone below the Reservoirs in danger of flooding because you have not done proper maintenance during the summer when you were drawing down your reservoirs? If we have a 4 inch rain storm, and we FLOOD - IT WILL BE YOUR FAULT, DRBC and NYC !

DRBC - you have let us all down again and put our lives, property, communities and towns in jeopardy!!!
NYCDEP to Increase Amount of Reservoir Releases to the Delaware River
Diversions to Rondout Reservoir Temporarily Interrupted To Allow Work on Delaware Aqueduct
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection announced today that it has increased the amount of water it is releasing from its Delaware Basin Reservoirs as part of the Flexible Flow Management Plan (FFMP). An innovative new release plan approved by the Supreme Court Decree Parties in October, the FFMP is intended to provide a more adaptive means for managing the Cannonsville, Pepacton, and Neversink reservoirs. FFMP is pending adoption by the Delaware River Basin Commission.
While releases have increased, diversions from Cannonsville, Pepacton and Neversink reservoirs have been temporarily suspended to allow for maintenance work on the Rondout-West Branch Tunnel. Under the provisions of the FFMP, temporary modifications of release rates by DEP for the purpose of maintenance are permitted.
“The increased releases from the Delaware Basin reservoirs will enhance flood mitigation while the Delaware Aqueduct is temporarily out of service as New York City continues along the path of rehabilitation of its water infrastructure,” said NYCDEP Deputy Commissioner Paul Rush. “This is an example of the efficacy of the Flexible Flow Management Program, which allows us to respond quickly to changing reservoir conditions.”
The FFMP provides for larger releases from the reservoirs to the streams when water is abundant and smaller releases when storage is at or below normal. Diversions are the movement of water between reservoirs for water supply purposes.
The increased releases process will be monitored around the clock and is expected to last for two to three weeks. NYCDEP will continue to operate under all other provisions of the Flexible Flow Management Plan during the period of increased releases. Excess releases will not be not made during periods of high downriver flow.
The expected release rates from the Delaware Basin Reservoirs during the Delaware Aqueduct shutdown are shown below:
• Neversink: From 123 million gallons per day will increase to 162 million gallons per day.
• Pepacton: From 450 million gallons per day to 485 million gallons per day.
• Cannonsville: From 970 million gallons per day to 1034 million gallons per day.
The Bloomberg Administration has made maintenance of New York City's water infrastructure a priority as detailed in the water network section of PlaNYC. NYCDEP has already started the process of repairing the Delaware Aqueduct, with a project to upgrade equipment at Shaft 6, the entry point that will allow all future work. In addition to beginning the Shaft 6 work, and despite the fact that evidence gathered over many years indicates that the leaks are stable, the agency is designing the long-term repairs, developing emergency protocols for working with affected communities, and through its Dependability Study developing plans to diversify the City's water system. Recent assessments show that the risk of tunnel failure has not increased and, in fact, remains at .01 to 1 percent.