SUBJECT:  Reject the request for Additional Storage

As a resident of Columbia, Knowlton Township, Warren County, New Jersey and a three-flood victim on my property beside the Delaware River, I am writing to the Commission regarding the Delaware River Basin Commission?s (DRBC) proposed Flexible Flow Management Plan (FFMP).
 
I believe it is a huge mistake to allow NYC to build additional storage in its existing Delaware River Reservoirs. NYC does not need this additional storage, and only a reassessment and optimization of their operations will prove this to be so.  It is compelling to note that in 1946, the daily water consumption of NYC was recorded at 1.1 Billion Gallons a day.  (Annual Report, 1940-1946, pg 72) This was years before the three Delaware River Reservoirs were operational. The consumption of water rose dramatically in the ensuing decades. However, due to conservation measures begun in the 1990?s and completed in the 2000?s, usage has decreased substantially.  The NYC Daily Water consumption rate recorded for NYC the month of January 2008 is at the same level of 1.1 Billion Gallons per day.  Yet, NYC has not changed its operating principals or practices in over forty years.  I suggest they try to gain efficiencies of operations, as any business would, and not allow wasteful practices, especially those that have proved harmful to the communities below the Reservoirs.
 
If NYC were to optimize its Reservoir operations, they could easily satisfy the drinking water needs of 11 million people. Therefore, I believe any clause that talks about additional Reservoir storage should be removed from any plan that the Commission wishes to adopt.
 
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.