Water Releases Only A Start
Sunday, April 06, 2008

I read with great interest Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell's support for increased releases of water in April from the three New York City reservoirs that feed into the Delaware River. While it falls considerably short of flood victims' pleas for year-round storage space, or "safety voids," in the reservoirs, it is a start.

However, Rendell's position appears to contradict his almost concurrent proclamation that he opposes placing any restrictions on New York City from keeping its reservoirs full. I attribute this seeming contradiction to poor staff work in the state Department of Environmental Protection, as well as to Cathleen Curran Myers, Rendell's surrogate on the Delaware River Basin Commission. Myers presumably is Rendell's chief adviser on reservoir issues.

Myers, deputy secretary for water management, has come under attack for acting hastily on Delaware River matters. She was chief architect of the DRBC's "1983 Good Faith Agreement," which has been sneered at because it set reservoir levels without a rigorous, fact-based analysis of New York's water needs.

To the tens of thousands of us affected by flooding, Rendell should be more mindful of whose advice he seeks and accepts. From the looks of it, Myers may not be the best go-to person for a sound, fact-based position on prudent reservoir policy.

Richard F. Green
Lambertville