Critics say flow plan puts Upper Delaware fishery at risk
Conservation groups call for changes.
By Christian Berg
Of The Morning Call
September 30, 2008
The Delaware River Basin Commission last week postponed its vote on a controversial water release program critics say would devastate the river's nationally renowned trout fishery and exacerbate flooding through the Lehigh Valley and beyond.
The decision to delay consideration of the Flexible Flow Management Plan -- which regulates how much water is stored and released from New York City's three Catskill reservoirs -- for at least 60 days was hailed as a victory by conservation groups. The groups hope they can use the extra time to convince the commission significant changes are needed to protect the river and mitigate flooding.
''What we're hoping to do in the next 60 days is convince other parties that everyone can benefit,'' said Lee Hartman, chairman of Pennsylvania Trout Unlimited's Delaware River committee.
The FFMP was designed as a compromise that would protect public water supplies and the Delaware's trout fishery while also providing modest flood relief. The plan has been in place since last October on a temporary basis, and commission approval last week would have kept it in place through May 2011.
Water war
The plan uses a complex release schedule based on current reservoir levels, time of year and weather conditions.
Trout Unlimited and other angling groups say that in reality, the plan encourages New York City's practice of storing far more drinking water than the city needs while taking an enormous toll on the Upper Delaware's trout fishery.
On numerous occasions this summer, they say, insufficient releases of cold reservoir water allowed river temperatures to reach lethal levels for trout. And between Sept. 4 and 6, a sudden and dramatic cutback in reservoir releases caused the river to go from bank full to little more than a trickle in just 48 hours. As a result, fish and many other aquatic animals were stranded.
Those events prompted Douglas Austen, executive director of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, to send a letter to DRBC members asking them to delay the FFMP vote.
''The fishery that has existed there for decades experienced unprecedented temperature stresses in 2008,'' wrote Austen, who also noted the Sept. 4-6 flow restrictions stranded federally endangered dwarf wedge mussels.
''We all entered into the FFMP with the understanding that it was to be an adaptive and flexible process, and the results of this past summer clearly show that modifications need to be made.''
Robert Bachman, a Fish Commission member who has been actively involved in the agency's review of the situation, said the FFMP needs to include specific flow and temperature targets that ensure the trout fishery can remain viable on a year-round basis.
''The idea of having this water get turned on and off like a faucet is where the real [ecological] damage comes,'' Bachman said. ''You can't go and dewater the main stem of the Delaware just because the [plan] says it's OK.''
Michael Saucier, a spokesman for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, which manages the city's water system, said city officials are willing to discuss changes to the FFMP.
''We've taken significant steps to provide for flood attenuation and habitat protection,'' Saucier wrote in a prepared statement. ''We're always looking for ways to be helpful, as long as the critical mission of providing drinking water for 9 million people is not put at risk.''
Flood fears
In addition to raising the ire of anglers and fisheries officials, the FFMP worries riverside residents who want New York City to maintain a constant void in its reservoirs so flood waters can be temporarily held back during major rain events.
New York City often keeps its three Catskill reservoirs -- Cannonsville, Pepacton and Neversink -- at or near 100 percent capacity as a hedge against drought. Flood-control advocates would like to see them kept at 80 percent capacity.
The Delaware Riverside Conservancy -- a 3,000-member group formed after a major flood in April 2005 -- recently threatened to sue the DRBC if it votes on the FFMP before a flood modeling analysis is completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Geological Survey and National Weather Service.
DRBC spokesman Clarke Rupert said that model, expected to be completed in January, will incorporate all 15 major reservoirs in the Delaware River system and help officials gauge the impact various reservoir levels would have had on major Delaware River floods in 2004, 2005 and 2006.
Rupert said it's too soon to know whether the commission will put off its FFMP vote until after that flooding information is reviewed. The agency's next business meeting is scheduled for Dec. 10.
The process of managing the Delaware's flow is governed by a 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decree that requires New York City and four states -- Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Delaware -- to unanimously agree on any permanent flow changes in the river. Any significant changes to the river's flow also requires a majority vote by the DRBC, which was formed in 1961 and includes representatives from the four decree states and the federal government.
Developing a revised flow plan that meets the needs of all parties shouldn't be complicated, Bachman said. However, he believes more leadership is needed within the DRBC to bring representatives from New York City and the states together with fishermen and flood victims.
''This is not rocket science,'' Bachman said. ''But I'll tell you, all these people have never put all their cards on the table and tried to work something out. Everybody has got to be involved.''
cberg@mcall.com 610-778-2252
Copyright © 2008, The Morning Call
Conservation groups call for changes.
By Christian Berg
Of The Morning Call
September 30, 2008
The Delaware River Basin Commission last week postponed its vote on a controversial water release program critics say would devastate the river's nationally renowned trout fishery and exacerbate flooding through the Lehigh Valley and beyond.
The decision to delay consideration of the Flexible Flow Management Plan -- which regulates how much water is stored and released from New York City's three Catskill reservoirs -- for at least 60 days was hailed as a victory by conservation groups. The groups hope they can use the extra time to convince the commission significant changes are needed to protect the river and mitigate flooding.
''What we're hoping to do in the next 60 days is convince other parties that everyone can benefit,'' said Lee Hartman, chairman of Pennsylvania Trout Unlimited's Delaware River committee.
The FFMP was designed as a compromise that would protect public water supplies and the Delaware's trout fishery while also providing modest flood relief. The plan has been in place since last October on a temporary basis, and commission approval last week would have kept it in place through May 2011.
Water war
The plan uses a complex release schedule based on current reservoir levels, time of year and weather conditions.
Trout Unlimited and other angling groups say that in reality, the plan encourages New York City's practice of storing far more drinking water than the city needs while taking an enormous toll on the Upper Delaware's trout fishery.
On numerous occasions this summer, they say, insufficient releases of cold reservoir water allowed river temperatures to reach lethal levels for trout. And between Sept. 4 and 6, a sudden and dramatic cutback in reservoir releases caused the river to go from bank full to little more than a trickle in just 48 hours. As a result, fish and many other aquatic animals were stranded.
Those events prompted Douglas Austen, executive director of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, to send a letter to DRBC members asking them to delay the FFMP vote.
''The fishery that has existed there for decades experienced unprecedented temperature stresses in 2008,'' wrote Austen, who also noted the Sept. 4-6 flow restrictions stranded federally endangered dwarf wedge mussels.
''We all entered into the FFMP with the understanding that it was to be an adaptive and flexible process, and the results of this past summer clearly show that modifications need to be made.''
Robert Bachman, a Fish Commission member who has been actively involved in the agency's review of the situation, said the FFMP needs to include specific flow and temperature targets that ensure the trout fishery can remain viable on a year-round basis.
''The idea of having this water get turned on and off like a faucet is where the real [ecological] damage comes,'' Bachman said. ''You can't go and dewater the main stem of the Delaware just because the [plan] says it's OK.''
Michael Saucier, a spokesman for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, which manages the city's water system, said city officials are willing to discuss changes to the FFMP.
''We've taken significant steps to provide for flood attenuation and habitat protection,'' Saucier wrote in a prepared statement. ''We're always looking for ways to be helpful, as long as the critical mission of providing drinking water for 9 million people is not put at risk.''
Flood fears
In addition to raising the ire of anglers and fisheries officials, the FFMP worries riverside residents who want New York City to maintain a constant void in its reservoirs so flood waters can be temporarily held back during major rain events.
New York City often keeps its three Catskill reservoirs -- Cannonsville, Pepacton and Neversink -- at or near 100 percent capacity as a hedge against drought. Flood-control advocates would like to see them kept at 80 percent capacity.
The Delaware Riverside Conservancy -- a 3,000-member group formed after a major flood in April 2005 -- recently threatened to sue the DRBC if it votes on the FFMP before a flood modeling analysis is completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Geological Survey and National Weather Service.
DRBC spokesman Clarke Rupert said that model, expected to be completed in January, will incorporate all 15 major reservoirs in the Delaware River system and help officials gauge the impact various reservoir levels would have had on major Delaware River floods in 2004, 2005 and 2006.
Rupert said it's too soon to know whether the commission will put off its FFMP vote until after that flooding information is reviewed. The agency's next business meeting is scheduled for Dec. 10.
The process of managing the Delaware's flow is governed by a 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decree that requires New York City and four states -- Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Delaware -- to unanimously agree on any permanent flow changes in the river. Any significant changes to the river's flow also requires a majority vote by the DRBC, which was formed in 1961 and includes representatives from the four decree states and the federal government.
Developing a revised flow plan that meets the needs of all parties shouldn't be complicated, Bachman said. However, he believes more leadership is needed within the DRBC to bring representatives from New York City and the states together with fishermen and flood victims.
''This is not rocket science,'' Bachman said. ''But I'll tell you, all these people have never put all their cards on the table and tried to work something out. Everybody has got to be involved.''
cberg@mcall.com 610-778-2252
Copyright © 2008, The Morning Call
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