NYC DEP shut down the Ashokan Release Channel just after 6:00 AM this morning, December 18th. This is due to the Mt Marion USGS gage reaching 17 ft (1 ft below action stage). The flow was reduced from 309 cfs to zero. The release channel will stay closed until the Mt Marion water level falls below action stage and reservoir conditions are assessed. Ashokan Reservoir storage is currently at 90.5% with a 10.9 BG void.
Tag Archives: reservoir releases
Ashokan Releases increased to 550MGD
The Ashokan Release Channel was increased today from 520 to approximately 550 MGD. The increases were completed at 2:30PM.
The current release channel turbidity is 8.70 ntu.
Ashokan releases ramping up today
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.
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
The Ashokan Release Channel was increased today from 0 to approximately 10 MGD. The increase was made in one movement at 3:55 PM. Releases resumed for this evening and will be turned off tomorrow for continued work.
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.
Ashokan Release Channel Operations 3/16/12
The Ashokan Release Channel was decreased today from 240 to approximately 200 MGD. The decrease was made in one 40 MGD increment at 12:50PM.
Ashokan Release Channel Operations 3/9/12
The Ashokan Release Channel was decreased today from 160 to approximately 120 MGD. The decrease was made in one 40 MGD increment at 11:30AM.
Ashokan Release Channel Operations 3/2/12
The Ashokan Release Channel was increased today from 80 to approximately 120 MGD. The increase was made in one 40 MGD increment at 2:35 PM. The increases were made in response to additional snowpack in the Ashokan watershed and to offset a decrease in the diversion from the reservoir into the Catskill Aqueduct. The increased releases will help maintain the void in the reservoir for flood mitigation according to the Conditional Seasonal Storage Objective outlined in the Interim Protocol. Turbidity levels for the releases are currently less than 30 NTUs.
Ashokan Release Channel Operations for 2/15/12
The Ashokan Release Channel was decreased today from 300 MGD to approximately 200 MGD. The decreases were made in approximately two 40 MGD increments and one 20 MGD increment starting at 3:30OPM and completed at 4:30PM.