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Water transfer from Schoharie to Ashokan, concerns about water availability

The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation put out the following statement:

DEC today authorized the release of water from Schoharie Reservoir through the Shandaken Tunnel to Ashokan Reservoir. With the state facing potential drought conditions this spring and summer, this action will reduce the loss of water from the NYC water supply system. While reservoir levels themselves are normal at this time, NYCDEP staff is concerned about other factors that could limit the availability of water to the NYC system in the future. The current low stream flows, lack of snowpack, early bloom of vegetation and projected long-term forecasts of high temperatures may increase the probability of shortfalls in water availability later in the year. Water is not presently being released from the Ashokan Reservoir to the Lower Esopus Creek, except for a small conservation release. Current projections are that water transferred from the Schoharie Reservoir will be contained within the Ashokan Reservoir and not result in additional releases into the Lower Esopus. The release of water from the Schoharie Reservoir will help assure the reliability of the water supply to continue to serve NYC and the upstate communities.

The NYC Department of Environmental Protection provided the following supplemental information with the DEC statement:

We have increased the Catskill Aqueduct diversion to 500 mgd to Kensico. Ashokan water quality continues to improve. We are going to move some more water from Schoharie to Ashokan but not enough to put us over the CSSO [Conditional Seasonal Storage Objective]. We dropped to the minimum release rate [10 mgd] IAW the Interim Protocol almost two weeks ago and intend to stay there. Turbidity of the release is now in the low teens and will continue to improve. We have also increased the diversion from Schoharie to Ashokan. Currently at 345 mgd and 18 ntu.

Esopus Creek turbidity in the news

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.

Ashokan Release Channel Operations 3/28/12

The Ashokan Release Channel was decreased today from 10 to 0 MGD at 8:47AM.

In accordance with Ashokan Release Interim Protocol Section 7.c. Exceptions, DEP is temporarily stopping the Ashokan Release in order to install flow-monitoring equipment in the release channel and perform engineering inspection of release channel walls. This work is expected to take 3 successive workdays. The release will be resumed at night provided it will not damage work in progress.

The installation of the flow metering equipment will improve the ability to measure future release rates. The engineering inspection will be used to develop designs for repairs to the 100 year old walls which DEP wants to perform in the near future.

Reservoir Release Workshop

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.