At a meeting of the Water Use and Resource Management Committee of the Upper Delaware Council (UDC) on February 19, Columbia Professor Emeretis Peter Kolesar of New York City and Eldred, and Jim Serio of Hancock presented a proposal to relieve thermal stress on trout in the coldwater fisheries of the Upper Delaware by releasing precisely targeted pulses from the reservoirs (see information box below for details).

The authors, supported by a coalition of environmental groups including Friends of the Upper Delaware and Trout Unlimited, are asking the UDC to support their appeal to have a pilot program in line with their proposal implemented in the flow management regime for the upcoming year starting June 1, 2013.

The reception at the meeting, which detailed the complex calculations that go into creating a a release program for the reservoirs, was favorable, and the committee voted unanimously to support and endorse the proposal.

In order to adopt the program, the authors and their supporters will need to convince the states of New York, Delaware, Pennsylvania New Jersey, and New Yok City, that it will not pose a threat to the NYC water supply nor to the supllies of any cities that get water from the Delaware River.