On 1st Day of Summer, Delaware River Trout Are at Peril

June 21, 2010
For Immediate Release

For more information:

Dan Plummer, FUDR chairman
catskilldan@mac.com
(607) 363-7848


Crisis Alert: On 1st Day of Summer,
Delaware River Trout Are at Peril

As summer begins, the trout on the upper Delaware River are at peril due to deadly water temperatures caused by inadequate cold-water releases from the region’s reservoirs.

In recent days, water temperatures between Hancock and Lordville, N.Y.—the heart of the river’s wild trout fishery--were measured at 75 degrees during the day and 70 overnight. With the long-range weather forecast predicting air temperatures in the 80s and 90s by late June, water temperatures are expected to reach as high as 78 degrees.

Trout are subjected to potentially lethal stress when water temperatures rise above 68 degrees. The aquatic insects essential to keeping the trout healthy are at risk, as well.

Friends of the Upper Delaware River, a nonprofit advocacy group, is calling on government officials to respond to this emergency by ordering additional releases of cold water from the New York City reservoirs that feed the river system. With reservoirs nearly full, there is plenty of water for both the trout and human beings.

“The trout need our help,” says Al Caucci, FUDR vice president, “and the solution lies with motivating the water bureaucracy to simply open the spigot to allow more life-sustaining cold water to flow from the reservoirs.”

Caucci, a legendary flyfisherman, guide and author, has spent his life on the river. He has made a point of carefully monitoring water temperatures and flow rates, and FUDR will use his expertise by issuing a “Crisis Alert” when conditions warrant.

On this first day of summer, water temperatures have reached the crisis stage, and FUDR is compelled to issue its first Crisis Alert.

“We have decided to take the lead on this issue and will disseminate a ‘Crisis Alert’ to government officials, the public, the media and our supporters when our data indicates the need,” said Caucci.

The river system has already suffered through one crisis this year. During an early heat wave from May 21 to June 6, water temperatures soared as high as 78 degrees—deadly for trout. Anglers and guides reported seeing dead trout, almost certainly killed by the heat.

Authorities say that the Cannonsville, Pepacton and Neversink reservoirs are all at 95 percent capacity. The situation hearkens to the devastating flooding of June 2006, when torrential rainfall had nowhere to go in the full reservoirs.

The current water release level out of Cannonsville Reservoir is 420 cubic feet per second. Caucci says water temperatures in the upper main stem Delaware from Hancock downstream to Lordville will stay above 70 degrees unless the release level is increased to 600 cubic feet per second.

FUDR has been a longtime critic of yo-yo water releases from the New York City reservoirs, which often flow heavy when trout need it least and are throttled down to a trickle when the fish need it most. FUDR advocates a common-sense release plan that would benefit the wildlife as well as those who live on and visit the river for recreation.

DEP to Conduct Timed Reservoir Releases To Prepare for Work on Delaware Aqueduct

June 1, 2010

CONTACT:

Farrell Sklerov / Michael Saucier (718) 595-6600

New Technology Will Allow Releases to Support Downstream Recreation

Environmental Protection Commissioner Cas Holloway today announced a planned shutdown of the Rondout-West Branch Tunnel portion of the Delaware Aqueduct this fall to perform the next phase of work related to the long-term repair of the tunnel. In October, DEP will install a backup support — a giant plug — behind an existing hatch that ensures that water in the tunnel does not go into the shaft, which workers need to access to install pumping equipment that will be used during the long-term repair. Ahead of the three-week shutdown, DEP has agreed with the states of Delaware, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania on a program, starting today, to manage the incremental release of water from reservoirs during the summer months that otherwise would be diverted during the planned shutdown. The new program is possible in part because of DEP's new computer modeling system that enables water supply operators to better predict water storage levels in the City's reservoirs.

"It's vital that we continue to take the steps necessary to improving our water infrastructure," said Commissioner Holloway. "Under Mayor Bloomberg's leadership, we have made it a priority to prepare for the eventual repair of the Delaware Aqueduct, which provides half of the City's drinking water supply and has been in service since 1944. In advance of the latest round of work, DEP will make incremental water releases to support recreational activities downstream, such as trout fishing. These timed releases are now possible in part due to new technologies we are pioneering to help us better predict and manage our reservoir levels to meet the daily water needs of 9 million New Yorkers."

Because of tools being developed to help better manage the water supply, DEP will be able to divert or release water from its reservoirs at the best times this summer to guarantee the highest quality water is delivered to New Yorkers and to benefit downstream habitat and recreation activities. In February, DEP announced that work had begun on the Operations Support Tool, a cutting-edge, $5.2 million computer system that will enable DEP's water supply operators to more accurately predict water storage levels in the City's reservoirs so that DEP can better manage the movement of water throughout the reservoir system, and ultimately, to the 9 million New Yorkers who rely on the City's drinking water every day. The initiative, the first of its kind in the world, will improve the City's water management systems by predicting events that could affect water quality much earlier than is now possible, and incorporating more data in the computer models used to determine water flows. It is being implemented on a rolling basis and is expected to be complete by 2013.

The 85-mile Delaware Aqueduct is the world's longest continuous tunnel and conveys drinking water from the Cannonsville, Neversink, Pepacton, and Rondout reservoirs to the City's distribution system, and provides approximately 50 percent of the City's daily water needs.

Since 2002, Mayor Bloomberg has invested approximately $493 million in preparation work for the eventual repair of the Delaware Aqueduct. The City has committed another $100 million for additional work over the next four years.

The shutdown will allow workers to perform work on a shaft necessary to ultimately repair the Aqueduct. Earlier this year, divers investigated the area around an existing hatch in the shaft that leads to the Aqueduct. In the fall, this area will be reinforced, which will lay the groundwork for the next phase of work, the installation of a pumping station in the shaft.

Over the next 12 months, DEP will temporarily increase the amount of water available for release from its Delaware Basin Reservoirs as part of the Flexible Flow Management Plan, an agreement between the four basin states of Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and the City of New York to manage the water storage levels and releases of the Cannonsville, Pepacton, and Neversink reservoirs.

DEP manages the City's water supply, providing more than 1 billion gallons of water each day to more than 9 million residents, including 8 million in New York City, and residents of Ulster, Orange, Putnam and Westchester counties. DEP has invested over $1.5 billion in watershed protection programs — including partnership organizations such as the Catskill Watershed Corporation and the Watershed Agricultural Council — that support sustainable farming practices, environmentally sensitive economic development, and local economic opportunity. New York City's water is delivered from the Catskill, Delaware, and Croton watersheds that extend more than 125 miles from the City, and are comprised of 19 reservoirs, and three controlled lakes.

DETERMINATION EXTENDED TO INCLUDE NATURAL GAS EXPLORATORY WELLS

WEST TRENTON, N.J. (June 14) - Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) Executive Director Carol R. Collier today announced that she has supplemented her May 19, 2009 determination to include natural gas
exploratory wells.

"My 2009 determination that sponsors of natural gas extraction projects in shale formations must obtain commission approval before commencing such projects expressly did not cover wells intended solely for exploratory purposes," Collier said. "Today, I am extending the provisions of my 2009 determination to include exploratory wells, subject to reservations for exploratory well projects already approved by the states on or before June 14, 2010."

By this supplemental determination, all natural gas well project sponsors, including the sponsors of natural gas well projects intended solely for exploratory purposes, must first apply for and obtain commission approval before commencing any natural gas well project for the production from or exploration of shale formations within the drainage area of Special Protection Waters in the Delaware River Basin.

"For the purpose of this determination, any natural gas well drilled in or through shale is assumed to be targeting a shale formation and is subject to this determination, unless the project sponsor proves otherwise," Collier added. All other aspects of the 2009 determination remain in effect.

Today's action recognizes the risks to water resources, including ground and surface water that the land disturbance and drilling activities inherent in any shale gas well pose. "In light of the commission's May 5, 2010 decision to finalize natural gas regulations before considering project approvals, this supplemental determination removes any regulatory incentive for project sponsors to classify their wells as exploratory wells and install them without DRBC review before the commission's natural gas regulations are in place," Collier said. "It thus supports the commission's goal that exploratory wells do not serve as a source of degradation of the commission's Special Protection Waters."

"Where entities have invested in exploratory well projects in reliance on my May 2009 determination and information from DRBC staff, there are countervailing considerations that favor allowing these projects to move ahead," Collier stated in her supplemental determination. "I am informed that since May of 2009, Pennsylvania has issued a limited number of natural gas well drilling permits within the Delaware River Basin targeting shale formations, while New York State has not issued any natural gas well permits targeting shales in the basin since that date. In contrast to the thousands of wells projected to be installed in the basin over the next several years, the risk to basin waters posed by only the wells approved by Pennsylvania since May 2009 are comparatively small. Not only are these wells subject to state regulation as to their construction and operation, but they continue to require commission approval before they can be fractured or otherwise modified for natural gas production. In light of these existing safeguards and the investment-backed expectations of the sponsors of these projects, this supplemental determination does not prohibit any exploratory natural gas well project from proceeding if the applicant has obtained a state natural gas well permit for the project on or before June 14, 2010."

Most of the shale formations that may be subject to horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques requiring large volumes of water in the basin are located within the drainage area to DRBC's designated Special Protection Waters (SPW). The commission's SPW program is designed to prevent degradation in streams and rivers considered to have exceptionally high scenic, recreational, ecological, and/or water supply values through stricter control of wastewater discharges, non-point pollution control, and reporting requirements. Coverage of the DRBC's SPW anti-degradation regulations includes the 197-mile non-tidal Delaware River from Hancock, N.Y. south to Trenton, N.J. and the land draining to this stretch.

Any person adversely affected by this action may request a hearing by submitting a request in writing to the commission secretary within 30 days of the date of this supplemental determination in accordance with the DRBC's Rules of Practice and Procedure.

The DRBC was formed by compact in 1961 through legislation signed into law by President John F. Kennedy and the governors of the four basin states with land draining to the Delaware River (Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania). The passage of this compact marked the first time in our nation's history that the federal government and a group of states joined together as equal partners in a river basin planning, development, and regulatory agency.

Additional information, including the complete supplemental determination, can be found on the commission's web site at www.drbc.net.

Biologists Recommendation for River Flows

Do your part to help improve the water flows on the Upper Delaware River.  Tell the Delaware River Basin Commission to implement the new flow plan recommended by the Pennsylvania Fish Commission ans the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Click here to take action

2010 America's Most Endangered Rivers: Upper Delaware River, PA / NY

2010 America's Most Endangered Rivers: Upper Delaware River, PA / NY

Millions of people depend on the clean waters of the Delaware River for drinking water. Fish and wildlife, including some endangered and threatened species, rely on the river for spawning habitat. Find out what you can do to help save this national treasure. Visit American Rivers by clicking on the link above.