Stakeholders call for releases to help the Delaware

Regional basin commission says releases are ongoing

By FRITZ MAYER

DELAWARE RIVER BASIN — Just a few weeks ago, residents and stakeholders were loudly voicing objections to releases of water from area reservoirs. Now, many voices are criticizing those who administer the reservoirs for not releasing enough water.

Dave Jones, who operates Kittatinny Canoes, called The River Reporter and said the water in the Delaware River is too low and too warm. He said he found a dead 22-inch brown trout, which probably died because of the warm temperatures. With the reservoirs at historic high levels, he said, water should be released to cool the river and bring up the level. He said this could be done without threatening the water supply for New York City.

Another stakeholder, who owned a home on the river, called to complain that he had read about insects being killed by contamination in the river. He was concerned with the partially treated sewage being released into the West Branch at Deposit, NY. He said water should be released from the Cannonsville Reservoir to help mitigate the effects of the sewage.

On the web site of the Friends of the Upper Delaware River (FUDR), Craig Findley wrote that the warm water “situation is critical… and wild trout are dying.” He called for emergency measures to release more water from Cannonsville.

Clarke Rupert, a spokesman for the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), responded to these concerns. Regarding the warm water in the river, he said, “there is a fisheries protection program that has been in place since 2004.” It runs through May 2007. As of August 3, 358 million gallons of water per day were being released from the Cannonsville Reservoir, specifically to help cool the water per terms of the agreement. Another 37 million gallons per day were still spilling from the reservoir because of the historically high levels. While Findley said the releases are not adequate, these are the levels agreed to by the various entities that set release parameters for the reservoirs.

As to the matter of the partially treated sewage being released into the West Branch at Deposit, Rupert said that the water releases from the Cannonsville Reservoir were equal to approximately 600 cubic feet per second (cfs), whereas the amount being discharged into the West Branch at Deposit is less than one cfs.

A lot of river players

The agreements governing the releases of the reservoirs that feed in the Delaware River have their origins in a U.S. Supreme Court decision dating to the 1930s. At the time, New York City was involved in a lawsuit against Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware over usage of the water from the river. The court decreed that the city could take up to 400 million gallons per day out three reservoirs in the Delaware River Basin, Cannonsville, Pepacton and Neversink.

In 1954, that level was upgraded to 800 million gallons per day, with the condition that water must be released from the various basin reservoirs to maintain a minimum flow of 1750 cfs at Montague, NJ.

There are also various later agreements that cover thermal releases for the fisheries protection program. But the process of changing those agreements is lengthy, and involves many players.

The DRBC is born

In 1962, four states and the federal government created the DRBC to help protect and preserve the river, and to take the place of the 43 state agencies and 14 interstate agencies that had some jurisdiction over the river at the time. Among many responsibilities, the DRBC was charged with the obligation to “impose releases” on the reservoirs through the river master to maintain the agreed-upon flows. But the establishment of any changes to the agreements regarding releases must be agreed upon unanimously by all members of the commission, which are the governors of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, as well as a federal representative, which, at present, is Major General William T. Grisoli, the commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Furthermore, officials from New York City must also agree to any changes in regulations because the city was a party to the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding the use of water from the river.

Further complicating the process of setting river policy is the fluctuating nature of the river itself. Rupert said, “One short year ago, there was major flooding in April 2005. Before Memorial Day came, however, releases needed to be made because the minimum flow at Montague was not being met. Seventy billion gallons were released.”

Then last fall, Rupert said, the region was within one week of entering a drought watch, because of a lack of rain, which would have reduced the required flow at Montague.

Therefore, a policy that might seem logical under certain conditions would not make any sense under other conditions.