10/06/07 - Delaware River Residents Bash Plan
Flood-prone areas won't get relief from N.Y. reservoirs

By MICHAEL RUBINKAM
Associated Press Writer
October 06, 2007

ALLENTOWN — People who live and work along the Delaware River aren't happy about an agreement that allows New York City to keep its reservoirs full at certain times of the year, saying it will do little to alleviate flooding downstream.

In effect since Monday, the plan governs the amount of water that New York must release each day from its Neversink, Pepacton and Cannonsville impoundments. It's designed to maintain adequate drinking-water supplies for Philadelphia and other downstream communities, support fish habitat and reduce flooding.
But flood-battered residents along the Delaware say the plan fails to meet their demand that New York permanently lower its reservoirs in order to capture and store more rainwater.

Elaine Reichart, whose house in Belvidere, N.J., was flooded three times, said New York is being allowed to horde water, putting the downstream economy at risk.

"So many people depend on the river for drinking water, for recreation, for economic viability, and New York City holds everyone hostage," said Reichart, a member of Aquatic Conservation Unlimited, a group calling for lower reservoirs.

The city says its reservoirs need to be as full as possible during summer to guard against drought.
Major flooding in 2004, 2005 and 2006 caused several deaths and hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage along the Delaware. The reservoirs were at or near capacity just before all three floods, and the overflow cascaded down the river and into homes and businesses.

The Delaware Riverside Conservancy, a citizens group, has threatened to sue New York unless it agrees to maintain what the group calls "safety voids" of 20 percent in the reservoirs.

Lafayette College hydrologist Roger Ruggles, hired by the conservancy to study the impact of the reservoirs on the June 2006 flood, found that a 20 percent void would have reduced flood crests by up to six feet.
"A majority of residents, businesses and towns would not have been flooded, not only preventing loss of life but preventing the upheaval of residents and millions upon millions in damage," said Jeffrey Russo, the group's lawyer.

The plan's supporters say it addresses the many competing demands on the river, from protecting the endangered dwarf wedge mussel, to supporting the upper Delaware's renowned wild trout fishery, to preventing ocean saltwater from creeping up the river and polluting Philadelphia's freshwater intakes.

Pennsylvania Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen McGinty said the agreement provides an "added measure of protection" to downstream residents without threatening water supplies or fish habitat.

While flooded residents agitate for change, the plan's effect on the trout fishery is still up for debate.
Nat Gillespie, a fisheries scientist with the conservation group Trout Unlimited, hailed the plan as a "positive step in the right direction" because it will provide for more consistent releases of water.

But Lee Hartman, the Delaware River chairman of Trout Unlimited's Pennsylvania chapter, predicts a one-third reduction in the number of fish. Not enough water will be released during summer to keep temperatures cool enough for trout, he said. "There is no flexibility to try to protect fish during hot weather."

Under the plan, New York has agreed to release a maximum of 1.5 billion gallons of water per day from the reservoirs, up from 1.2 billion gallons, depending on the time of year and available reservoir capacity.

The agreement went into effect Monday, but only temporarily. The Delaware River Basin Commission, the agency that manages the river on behalf of the four states and the federal government, must accept public comment on the plan. The commission hopes to adopt a final regulation by May.

On the Net:
DRBC: www.state.nj.us/drbc/
New York City DEP: www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/dep/home.html
Delaware Riverside Conservancy: www.drconline.org/