LESSON 4	Summary

New York City's Need for Water

The New York City Watershed consists of 19 upstate reservoirs and 3 controlled lakes that cover some 1,900 square miles in the Catskill Mountains and east of the Hudson River. These systems within the NYC watershed boundary have ecological and political consequences for the residents. To keep the streams, lakes, and wetlands within this boundary clean, rules and regulations are applied to the watershed regions to benefit New York City's eight million residents and the one million residents of Westchester, Putnam, Orange, and Ulster Counties who rely on the same supply system. These nine million people consume 1.4 billion gallons of water daily. However, local people who live and run businesses under these rules often disagree with them. Septic systems, wastewater treatment, and economic development are all monitored to avoid impact on the water bodies. What constitutes "safe" development to the NYC Department of Environmental Protection may clash with what is locally thought to be responsible development. By understanding both sides of the issues, citizens can make informed decisions for the future of the Catskills. Historically, there has been a real interest on both sides to come to an agreement so each can benefit from an unlikely partnership.

Throughout this century, the New York City water supply system has been the envy of virtually all major drinking water supply systems around the country and throughout the world. This system is one of the engineering marvels of the modern world. Ninety-seven percent of the water supplied to the city travels by gravity, meaning changes in electrical energy costs do not affect the cost of water. The supply tunnels and aqueducts that feed water to New York City are amazing in themselves, as you will see.

In 1842 the first of the New York City reservoirs was created by damming the Croton River in Westchester County. The water was piped through a 40.5-mile aqueduct into Manhattan. Increasing demands caused the construction of other reservoirs in the Croton System before the turn of the century. Plans were in place by 1907 to tap the Catskill Mountains for clean water. The Ashokan Reservoir was finished in 1915, and the Schoharie Reservoir in 1926 completed the Catskill Supply System, built to meet the increasing demand for clean water.

The last and largest piece of the puzzle, the Delaware System, was completed in 1965. The Delaware System consists of four reservoirs: Neversink, Cannonsville, Pepacton, and Rondout. Water from the Catskill System flows, via the Catskill Aqueduct, under the Hudson River and then to the Kensico Reservoir in Westchester County. The Delaware Aqueduct collects the water from the Delaware System, carries it under the Hudson River, and deposits it into the West Branch Reservoir in Putnam County.

The landmark NYC Watershed Agreement that was signed between the towns of the Catskill / Delaware Watersheds and New York City allows the city to avoid EPA-mandated construction of a filtration plant. Every activity within the watershed affects New York City's water. All of the road salt, the fertilizer, the pollutants from leaky septic tanks eventually find their way into the reservoirs. Today, this water is virtually untreated. A large metal net, resembling a chain-link fence, is the only "filter" the city's drinking water passes through. Usually the only chemicals used in the water are small amounts of chlorine and fluoride. When the water is cloudy, aluminum sulfate is added to allow particles to settle out, and copper sulfate is added when algae growth is a problem.

Overview of New York City Water Supply System

In the Catskill Mountains, the New York City drinking water supply area, or watershed, covers approximately 1,600 square miles, and includes six reservoirs located in five counties. The reservoirs located in the Catskills are part of either the Delaware System or the Catskill System. The remaining reservoirs and lakes comprise the East of Hudson Watersheds, or the Croton System. Of the 1.4 billion gallons of water supplied daily to over 9 million New York City and upstate residents, the Catskill and Delaware Systems provide 90 percent of it. Fifty percent originates in the Delaware System, and another 40 percent is supplied by the Catskill System.

Not all water collected from the Catskills ends up in the same place. There is a drainage divide running north to south through the Catskills. Precipitation on the western side flows into the Delaware River, and precipitation on the eastern side falls within the Hudson River Watershed. Consequently, this drainage divide separates the Delaware Supply System from the Catskill. As shown on the map provided, water from the Delaware System takes the most complicated journey. The Rondout Reservoir collects water from three other reservoirs: the Cannonsville Reservoir, via the West Delaware Tunnel (44 miles long, 11'4" diameter), the Pepacton Reservoir, via the East Delaware Tunnel (25 miles long, 11'4" diameter), and the Neversink Reservoir, via the Neversink Tunnel (6 miles long, 10' diameter). The Delaware Aqueduct transports the water from the Rondout Reservoir, under the Hudson River (1100' below sea level!) into the (East of Hudson) West Branch Reservoir. This 85-mile-long structure is the world's longest continuous underground tunnel. It has an average depth of 623' below ground, with the deepest section at 1,551'. An aqueduct then carries the water from the West Branch Reservoir to the Kensico Reservoir, near White Plains. This is where water from the two systems, Delaware and Catskill, meet.

The Catskill Supply System consists of two reservoirs, the Schoharie and Ashokan. Water from the Schoharie Reservoir travels through the Shandaken Tunnel (18 miles) into the Esopus Creek, which travels 11 miles to reach the Ashokan Reservoir. The Catskill Aqueduct transports water under the Hudson River and then to the Kensico Reservoir, a journey of 92 miles. The Catskill Aqueduct is actually seven miles longer than the Delaware Aqueduct, but it is not entirely underground. From the Kensico Reservoir, the water from the Delaware and Catskill Systems flows through two different tunnels into the Hillview Reservoir, located just outside New York City, which regulates water flow from the Kensico.

The New Croton Reservoir collects the water from all of the reservoirs within the Croton System and sends it off to New York City through the Croton Aqueduct. On the southern end of the Croton Aqueduct is the Jerome Park Reservoir, which water enters before distribution.

The History of the Lost Villages

The New York City Water Supply System continues to amaze people across the globe as an engineering feat. New York City does not have the drinking water concerns that other huge coastal metropolitan areas struggle with continually. The water is plentiful, with rare drought warnings, and the water is pure. Engineering projects of this magnitude always bring sacrifice and conflict with them. Sacrifices of land, history, homes, and businesses had to be made in order to build reservoirs in ideal locations. These sacrifices were hard to make and created great conflict between those who were forced to make the sacrifices and those who would benefit.

It is very important to remember those sacrifices. The construction of each reservoir resulted in the destruction and flooding of one or more villages; the Ashokan Reservoir alone flooded twelve. As years pass, the villages become more and more buried. Not by rising water levels, but buried in everyone's minds because the number of survivors of the villages is declining. Only recently have the younger generations begun learning about this important piece of local history.

Ashokan Reservoir

Around the turn of the century, when New York City needed more clean water for its growing population, the city turned to the Catskill Mountains, located some 100 miles to the north. The Esopus Valley in the Catskills was chosen mainly because test borings showed the presence of solid bedrock, necessary to prevent loss of water underground. The plans were in place by early 1907, and the purchase of land by New York City followed soon.

The twelve villages once located beneath the Ashokan Reservoir are: Boiceville, Glenford, Olive Branch, Olive Bridge, Olive, Shokan, West Hurley, and West Shokan, which were relocated, and Olive City, Brown's Station, Brodhead's Bridge, and Ashton, which were destroyed and not rebuilt. The village of Olive was relocated across the present-day reservoir and renamed Ashokan. Ten years after construction began, the Ashokan Reservoir and the Catskill Aqueduct were completed. Ten thousand acres of land was cleared and more than 2,000 people forced to move their families. Five-hundred-four homes, 35 stores, 10 churches, 11 schools, and five railroad stations were either moved by the owners or burned by the City. All of the vegetation located on the site of the reservoir was cut down; stumps were dug out or blown up. Forty or so cemeteries located within the boundaries held 2,700 burial sites. New York City paid friends and relatives of the deceased $15 to move the graves. Those not moved by families or friends were relocated by the City.

All of the construction materials for the project were supplied from the Catskill Mountains and brought to the site via the Ulster & Delaware Railroad. The construction of this reservoir was such a huge undertaking that a workers' camp needed to be built, located on the former site of Brown's Station for its central location. It was larger than any of the other villages in the area, with over 4,000 laborers in this 225-building camp. The camp was more modern than the local villages. A bank, a school, fire and police stations, a bakery, a church, and even a sewage treatment plant were available to the mainly-immigrant construction workers. Of the 4,000 laborers, 60% were Italian immigrants, with Austrians and Russians comprising the two next largest groups. The Americans that worked on the project came from 27 different states. The workers' pay ranged from $1.20 - $1.80 per 8 hour day, which was a very good wage at the time. The camp was the last site torn down before the Ashokan Reservoir was allowed to fill.

With the workers' camp housing thousands of people, conflict and crime were inevitable. A Board of Water Supply police force was deemed necessary to patrol the reservoir and aqueduct areas during construction. In their busiest year, the 377 patrolmen arrested over 1,500 people. Throughout their employment (through 1918), the patrolmen's testimony resulted in more than 5,000 convictions and seven executions. Most of the arrests were made south of the reservoir, along the Catskill Aqueduct, where working conditions were more dangerous and tensions were greater. This police force was organized and regulated by New York City officials; therefore, the methods used and the laws followed were different from neighboring towns. Today, the police force is a branch of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) that enforces regulations within the watershed.

The main dam is 1000' long, 252' high, and 190' wide at the base. The lake created by this dam has an average depth of 50', with the deepest point being 190'. The Ashokan Reservoir cost $30.5 million to construct. When water was first sent to New York City, the Ashokan Reservoir was 42% full, nine months after water started filling the reservoir. When the project began, experts predicted the reservoir to last 90 years. Today, the US Army Corps of Engineers, which assesses it annually, predicts a lifespan of 250 years. This amazing engineering feat was accomplished with only the use of steam-powered engines, as the internal combustion engine had only recently been invented. The steam shovels, steamrollers, and steam-powered locomotives used in the construction process, appropriately name this, "the last of the handmade dams".

Schoharie Reservoir

The Town of Gilboa was founded in 1848, with the original settlement dating back to 1760. The late 1800s brought hard times for the citizens of Gilboa. In 1869, a flood destroyed almost half of the village, and in 1890 a terrible fire wiped out more than half of the village, forcing the citizens to rebuild their homes after each tragedy. Gilboa's luck did not seem to get any better after the turn of the century. In 1914, New York City selected an area near Prattsville for the location of a new water supply reservoir. After poor results from test borings, to examine the underlying bedrock there, New York City decided that Gilboa was a better site for the reservoir. In 1918, New York City bought up all of the rights to the town and surrounding valley.

Three separate fires were needed to raze the village, before construction could begin. The last two fires were ordered by the New York City Board of Water Supply; the first was considered by some to be accidental, though others felt it was set deliberately. In all, 25 homes, 12 barns, a church, and a garage were destroyed, 1,330 graves were moved, and 200 Gilboans were forced to relocate. On December 4, 1925, eight years after New York City first started acquiring the land, and five years after construction of the dam began, the remaining buildings (the former Richmyer farm) below the water line were burned. The Schoharie Reservoir began to fill on July 24, 1926.

The construction of this reservoir required damming the Schoharie Creek which flows north, and essentially diverting the flow southward to New York City. The Shandaken Tunnel carries the water under mountains for 18 miles until it reaches the surface again, and from there it flows to the Ashokan Reservoir as part of the Esopus Creek. The Gilboa Dam cost $6.8 million of the entire project cost estimated at $22 million.

Rondout Reservoir

The Catskill Water Supply System (Ashokan and Schoharie Reservoirs) was completed by 1926, and already, New York City knew that even more water was needed to meet its growing demand. New York City began studies in the Rondout Valley in 1921, and by 1927, the Rondout Valley was chosen for the site of a new reservoir. When New York City began building the Rondout Reservoir in 1937, the future of three villages changed forever. In Eureka, Lackawack, and Montela lived over 1,200 people (250 families). They were forced to sacrifice over 1,000 buildings, including their homes, and move elsewhere. All the bodies from the eight cemeteries in the valley had to be moved. Of the three villages, only one, Lackawack, was relocated and still exists today. Building the reservoir required the work of over 400 laborers, while the construction of the aqueduct needed hundreds more. The main dam, called the Merriman Dam for the chief engineer, Thaddeus Merriman, who passed away during the construction of the reservoir, spans 2,600 feet from one side of the Rondout Valley to the other.

Construction began on June 21, 1937, was delayed twice, once for World War II, once for the Korean War, and was finally completed on July 18, 1955. When construction began, the village of Lackawack was the first and largest to be destroyed and the only one relocated. The largest village industry was a tannery that employed 350 men.

The historic village of Montela, known for the Battle of Chestnut Woods in 1778, was the next to be razed. Although settled in the mid-1700s, Montela wasn't officially established until 1886. This village was located on the border of Sullivan and Ulster Counties. The last village to fall was Eureka, the smallest of the three villages where a grist mill provided most of the jobs. Also founded in the mid-1700s, its post office closed forever on October 31, 1942, and like the rest, it disappeared under the water.

Neversink Reservoir

The construction of the Neversink, begun March 18, 1941, led to the relocation of another 1,500 people, forced to move from the villages of Bittersweet and Neversink. The village of Bittersweet was never relocated; it was lost forever. The village of Neversink, which was moved, is still on the map today in its new location. Seven cemeteries existed where the reservoir now lies, forcing the relocation of 1,622 graves. Several boarding houses, schools, churches, stores, a bowling alley, and a casino were located where the reservoir now lies. The 1,500-acre reservoir, finally completed on October 23, 1955, took over 14 years to build due to construction delays during World War II. The Neversink is New York City's benchmark reservoir, the standard to which others are compared. Due to the very undeveloped watershed area, this reservoir has the highest water quality of all New York City reservoirs.

Pepacton Reservoir

In 1938, a location on the East Branch of the Delaware River was selected. This new reservoir would displace over 900 people from four different villages: Shavertown, Pepacton, Union Grove, and Arena. A dam was to be built just above the village of Downsville, about eight miles west of the village of Shavertown. Construction of the Downsville Dam began on November 11, 1948, and when complete it would hold back the largest of New York City's reservoirs.

Shavertown was first settled in 1781 by Jacob and John Shaver. The first and foremost industry in Shavertown was timber, which supplied cities, like Philadelphia, with logs shipped down the Delaware River. The first post office was established in 1828, and the Delaware and Eastern Railroad reached Shavertown by 1906, bringing increasing numbers of people with it. By early 1954, the people of Shavertown had been evicted and the post office shut down.

The village of Pepacton, the reservoir's namesake, was a gathering place for native Americans. In the late 1800s, shad-fishing was the most prominent industry. Pepacton was located only four miles from the site of the future Downsville Dam. Due to its close proximity to the dam, it was the first village to be destroyed to make way for the Pepacton Reservoir. The village of Union Grove, nine miles from the site of the Downsville Dam, was founded in 1801. Once an established lumbering town and convention site for outdoor activities, Union Grove closed its post office doors on April 30, 1954.

The village of Arena, or "Lumberville" as it was called during the days of rafting timber down the East Branch of the Delaware River, was established in 1874. Arena was the largest and last village in the East Branch valley to succumb to New York City's drinking water needs. The village was the farthest from the Downsville Dam, about 12.5 miles east. Once Arena was evacuated and the dam completed in 1954, the Pepacton Reservoir began to collect water from the East Branch of the Delaware. The project was officially completed on November 18, 1955. In all, the Pepacton Reservoir forced 943 people to relocate. Ten cemeteries with 2,369 graves were moved, and over 150 buildings were destroyed within the East Branch valley, including eight stores, seven churches, two schools, and two railroad stations.

Cannonsville Reservoir

The last reservoir constructed was the Cannonsville. Due to the size of its watershed, the largest of all of the reservoirs', New York City was forced to purchase massive amounts of watershed land surrounding the reservoir to help protect the water quality. The Cannonsville Reservoir lies almost completely in the town of Tompkins. The only remaining village in the town is Trout Creek. The other five villages were condemned in the 1960s to make way for the water: Beerston, Cannonsville, Granton, Rock Rift, and Rock Royal. A total of 941 people lost their homes to the construction of the Cannonsville Reservoir.

Rock Rift was known most for its lumber industry, although there was a factory that produced charcoal, wood alcohol, and acetate of lime. The village of Granton, located under the

eastern branch of the present-day reservoir, was formerly a lumbering and rafting center. The village of Cannonsville was originally a lumbering community as well, which prior to the flooding was home to a creamery that was the largest employer in the village. Rock Royal was located in what is now the northern branch of the reservoir. Rock Royal also had a large creamery and dry milk plant before the village was forced to shut down in 1962. Beerston was located about 4.5 miles south of Walton and was home to an acid factory until World War I. It's post office opened in 1888 and closed in 1955.

Note: Albany, like New York City, had to remove a village to create its major water supply reservoir. The village of Indian Fields was located on the edge of the Catskill region in southern Albany County. In 1929, Albany ordered the evacuation of Indian Fields. Farms, a hotel, a church, a school, and a post office were destroyed to make way for the new reservoir, which resulted from damming the Hannacroix Creek just west of Alcove. A cemetery was moved to its present location east of the reservoir. The Alcove Reservoir holds 13.5 billion gallons, almost as much as New York City's Schoharie Reservoir. The smaller Basic Creek Reservoir also contributes to Albany's water supply.

Federal Clean Water Act - 1972

Following the second World War, the need for water quality improvements became evident to Congress. The responsibility of improving the water quality would be divided between the states and the federal government. These responsibilities were addressed in the 1948 Water Pollution Control Act. The federal government would conduct surveys, provide research, and conduct investigations, while the states had control over their own pollution abatement methods.

The early 1970s spurred an era of environmentalism in this country. For example, in 1972, Congress passed the Water Pollution Control Amendments (PL 92-500). One of the goals of these amendments was to make all navigable waters "fishable and swimmable" by 1983, in addition to eliminating all discharge of pollutants into navigable waters by 1985. These amendments also increased administrative duties for the recently established (1970) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

In 1977 an amendment to PL 92-500 was enacted. The amendment dealt mostly with water allocation rights on the state level, but it had another purpose. This act and the original PL 92- 500 were combined, and termed the 1972 Clean Water Act, considered a benchmark for all water quality protection efforts in this country. The act is a foundation that enables stricter water quality standards to be set each time they are needed.

The Watershed Agreement

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has the responsibility of setting and enforcing the drinking water standards in this country, set by the 1986 Safe Drinking Water Act. The 1989 Surface Water Treatment Rule (SWTR) was passed to ensure that all surface drinking water sources, like New York City's, would meet USEPA standards by 1993 or be filtered. New York City estimated the cost of building a filtration plant at $4 to $6 billion, ultimately causing NYC to more than double the current water rates. By 1990, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) had put together a draft Watershed Protection Plan, which would allow the city to meet the EPA's standards without building a filtration plant.

In 1993, the USEPA granted a "Filtration Avoidance Determination" (FAD), which required that NYC begin acquiring land and upgrading sewage treatment plants within its watershed. The USEPA later granted another FAD that was effective until December 1996. The second FAD stipulated that the city have a satisfactory watershed protection program in place, establish a land acquisition program, and revise the current watershed regulations. After years of contention, in November 1995, an Agreement in Principle was reached between New York City and the upstate towns located within the NYC Watershed (the Coalition of Watershed Towns). The Memorandum of Agreement was officially signed by the parties on January 21, 1997, allowing New York City to begin the process of meeting EPA standards without having to filter the water.

Upstate / Downstate Perceptions & Perspectives

The upstate residents of New York lead very different lives than the residents of New York City. Ever since the early 1900s, when New York City constructed the Ashokan Reservoir in the Catskill Mountains, a conflict between these New Yorkers has been evident. The upstaters feel that New York City invaded the Catskills and took whatever land it wanted to supply its people with clean water, even if it meant uprooting people whose families had inhabited the land for generations. To add more fuel to the already-raging fire, New York City, in the early 1950s, purchased more land in the East Branch Valley of Catskills to make way for their newest water supply, the Delaware System.

New York City must protect its drinking water supply from pollution if they do not want to be forced to construct a filtration plant. This means regulating certain lands within the watershed, as well as purchasing land in order to insure its protection. These regulations limit the activities of local land owners within the New York City watershed. Obviously, some of these regulations do not sit very well with all of the local landowners. Upstaters tend to believe that the downstaters are pushy know-it-alls who think they can run the upstaters' lives by imposing such regulations. Downstaters possess various misconceptions as well. City residents commonly believe that upstaters are uneducated, lower-class people who do not care about the environment.

In the early 1990s, stricter national policies on water quality rekindled the hostility between the upstaters and downstaters, resulting in a lawsuit against New York City in 1994. The Coalition of Watershed Towns filed the suit because the upstaters were unhappy with early negotiation efforts, and underlying distrust had resulted in a communications breakdown. In January, 1995, a survey conducted by Cornell University of 758 households within the NYC watershed attempted to record any changes in public opinion as the New York City watershed controversy grew. 73% of upstate residents felt that New York City was not offering enough money for watershed protection, and 79% felt that the upstate towns were not asking for enough money from New York City for protection. While this survey was only geared to the upstate view, some promising conclusions were reached. For example, 59% surveyed felt that New York City was more willing to cooperate in 1995 than it had been ten years earlier.

Despite some differences, all New Yorkers seem to want and enjoy similar things in life: A less hectic lifestyle, outdoor adventures, and being closer to nature. Ideally, the signing of the New York City Watershed Memorandum of Agreement in January of 1997 will enable both sides to see beyond the stereotypes and begin enjoying their similarities.

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