TRR photo by David Hulse Vast mud flats have now appeared at the Cannonsville Reservoir in Delaware County, as the 7,000-acre reservoir water levels continued to sink to levels unseen since its completion in 1965. (Click for larger image)

Drought impact apparent at Cannonsville

By DAVID HULSE

DEPOSIT — At the rate that it is draining, the 7,000-acre Cannonsville Reservoir could be technically empty by early next month.

Storage at the New York City reservoirs dropped inches below the formal drought line on November 26 and should it stay there until week’s end, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) will likely declare the basin to be in a drought.

If you want to see drought impacts, take a drive to Delaware County and look at the hole where some 96 billion gallons of water filled the reservoir to overflowing last spring. Today there are mud flats and the eerie sights of roads and foundations of communities drowned by the reservoir’s construction.

On November 27, Cannonsville stood at 3.4 percent of capacity.

Cannonsville has been taking the brunt of the drought for the system, which includes the Pepacton, Neversink and Rondout reservoirs. System storage Tuesday stood at 58 percent of normal, down some 152 billion gallons from this time last year.