FFMP Comments - A full, NYC WATER SYSTEM WIDE - Re-Assessment, based on usage, not perceived need, must be undertaken.
 
As a resident of Columbia, New Jersey, who has been flooded out of my home three times since 2001, I am writing to the Commission regarding the Delaware River Basin Commission?s (DRBC) proposed Flexible Flow Management Plan (FFMP).
 
Because of the recurring disasters that NYC Reservoir Operations have continued to affect, I believe a full NYC Water System wide reassessment based on usage (and not need) should be commenced as soon as possible.  It is quite clear that NYC does not need to collect and hold the capacity of water that it currently stores in the Delaware River Reservoirs. Based on the consumptive usage from 1945 until today, it is also clear that NYC?s total usage has declined dramatically. NYC?s operational procedures have not been recalibrated to account for this decline.  Therefore, a reassessment is needed to allow for development of a normalized, optimal system-wide operational plan which will secure NYC?s drinking water usage, and at the same time, secure the communities below the Reservoirs from further flooding devastation. 
A total, System Wide Reassessment is the only way NYC can prove it is managing its system and OUR RIVER in an optimal way.  We trust that you will hear our request and consider it as part of your congressionally mandated responsibility to ensure that the Delaware River is managed equitably and with the safety of the Riverside Communities as part of your responsibility.
Furthermore, I reject the validity of both the current FFMP and Revision 1 as adequate plans to maintain the safety of the below reservoir communities.  I insist, and invite elected officials to join me in demanding, that you develop an interim plan that adequately protects our community from Reservoir flooding.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the proposed FFMP.
Respectfully submitted,
 
John G. Webb, III
P.O. Box 336
Columbia, NJ 07832
Affiliation:  Owner of property beside the Delaware River that has been flooded 3 times since I've owned it and member, Delaware River Conservancy, Inc.