Tag Archives: ashokan

Ashokan Release Channel Operations

Ashokan Release Channel Reactivated, April 17, 2024

NYCDEP announced that the Ashokan Release Channel was reactivated today and flow will be gradually increased to 200 MGD (309 cfs).  The combined flow of the Ashokan spillway and release channel will be maintained below 1000 MGD (1547 cfs) as stipulated by the Interim Release Protocol (IRP).

Ashokan Reservoir storage is currently at 101.2 %. Today’s Conditinal Seasonal Storage Objective (CSSO) is 97.2 %. The turbidity of the release is 4.0 NTU. The Catskill Aqueduct is online diverting 310 MGD for water supply. NYCDEP will continue to monitor conditions and make additional adjustments pursuant to the IRP. 

Ashokan Release Channel Operations

Ashokan Release Channel Shutdown

According to NYCDEP, the Ashokan Release Channel was shutdown at around mid-day on Friday, April 12th in accordance with the Interim Release Protocol (IRP) in response to rising creek levels and the National Weather Service forecast for the Mt Marion stream gauge .

NYCDEP is monitoring the stream gauge. Also, the Ashokan Reservoir is forecasted to spill beginning tomorrow morning and continuing through the weekend. The release channel will be re-activated once the streamflow and spill stabilizes. According to the IRP, operations can commence once Mt Marion falls below action stage so long as the combined spill and release flow rate remains below the 1000 MGD.   

As of April 12th, the Ashokan Reservoir storage was at 99.2% and the Combined Seasonal Storage Objective was at 96.0%. The turbidity of the release at shutdown was 2.2 NTU. The Catskill Aqueduct remains online diverting 400 MGD for water supply. 

Ashokan Release Channel Operations

Ashokan Release Adjustments

NYCDEP reported closure of the Ashokan Release Channel for a 10-hour period on Sunday, March 24th from around midnight to 10:00 AM, prompted by the Esopus Creek at Mt. Marion stream gage exceeding the “Action Stage” of 18ft. Afterwards, the Ashokan Release Channel was gradually reactivated to a flow of 440 MGD (681 CFS). As of Monday, March 25th, the release turbidity is 2.7 NTU, Ashokan Reservoir storage is at 98.3%, above the Conditional Seasonal Storage Objective (CSSO) of 92.3%. The Catskill Aqueduct is online and diverting 375 MGD (580 CFS) for water supply. NYCDEP will continue to monitor conditions and make additional release adjustments pursuant to the Interim Release Protocol (IRP).

Ashokan Release Channel Operations

Ashokan Release Adjustments

The Ashokan Release Channel was shut down over the weekend in response to the rising Esopus Creek water level at the Mt Marion gauge. With the Mt Marion dropping below Action Stage, the Ashokan Release Channel was reactivated on Monday, March 11th, increasing from 0 MGD to 420 MGD in a series of steps. NYSDEP will continue to monitor conditions and make additional adjustments pursuant to the Interim Release Protocol.

As of March 11, the current release turbidity is 5.3 NTU, Ashokan Reservoir storage is 97.7%, and the Catskill Aqueduct is online diverting 310 MGD for water supply.

Ashokan Release Channel Operations

Release channel reactivated, reservoir spilling

The Ashokan Release Channel was reactivated after the stream level at Mount Marion dropped below Action Stage. The current release flow is 300MGD and turbidity is 17.5 ntu.

Ashokan Reservoir storage reached 100% and starting spilling overnight Sunday, January 14th. DEP will monitor the spill and release flow rates to ensure that combined total is less than 1000MGD (1550 cfs), adjusting the release rate accordingly. The Catskill Aqueduct is online diverting 125 MGD for water supply.

DEP will continue to monitor conditions and make additional adjustments pursuant to the IRP.

Ashokan Release Channel Operations

Ashokan releases ramping up today

Leave a comment

NYCDEP Bureau of Water Supply will be increasing the release of water from the Ashokan Reservoir through the Release Channel Saturday December 1st. This increased release has been coordinated with NYSDEC and will not exceed 600 MGD and will last for 3 weeks. The purpose of the increased diversion is to temporarily stop the Schoharie Reservoir from spilling in order to complete the construction of at least one of the two new temporary siphons at Gilboa Dam.

The current release channel turbidity is 9.20 ntu. Releases are scheduled to ramp up in 40 MDG increments hourly, reaching 530 MGD by 4:30PM today.

News

Esopus Creek turbidity in the news

Leave a comment

Turbid releases from Ashokan Reservoir have made headlines in Ulster County for the past year-and-a-half since the NYC Department of Environmental Protection reopened the release channel into the Lower Esopus Creek. Now, the dumping of turbid water has garnered attention in New York City, the beneficiary of the turbid releases in the form of clean drinking water. Writing for the New York Times, Mireya Navarro focuses on how the turbid releases exacerbate the century-old upstate-downstate tensions over the city’s water supply. She writes that long-standing disputes over DEP’s operations in Ulster County have reached a “tipping point.” Read the full article: Muddying of Beloved Creek Is Last Straw for Neighbors of a City Reservoir. Navarro also posted a blog entry about the issue at the NYTimes.com Green Blog: Upstate vs. Downstate: A Slow Boil Over Water Issues.

Events, News

Reservoir Release Workshop

Leave a comment

The Lower Esopus Ashokan Reservoir Release Workshop
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
6:30 – 8:30 pm
@ Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County
In their new Kingston Plaza location at 232 Plaza Road
RSVP cbalmer@rcapsolutions.org

Thank you to all who were able to attend the LEWP-sponsored Lower Esopus Positive Action Workshop at the end of January. We are in the process of confirming and revising the priority projects that were identified during the workshop. One of the major activities we have been pursuing since then is the removal of log/ debris jams along the stream. LEWP is helping coordinate a funding application that is being submitted by Ulster County Soil and Water Conservation District in early April. This funding is for debris sites that did not meet the imminent threat criteria required for funding through the Emergency Watershed Protection Program.

For many of you, the biggest concern is with water quality and quantity associated with releases from the Ashokan Reservoir. LEWP is holding a workshop to provide updates on this issue, including details of NYSDEC/ NYCDEP’s Interim Release Protocol; and to document your concerns and identify community action steps. Please save the date and email RSVP to Candace Balmer cbalmer@rcapsolutions.org.