United Water needs to manage supply, not tap Hudson
February 7, 2010
Community View in The Journal News
Bob Dillon
United Water wants to treat and desalinate Hudson River water to
meet Rockland's water supply needs. Before the already overtaxed
residents and businesses of Rockland County pay for an unneeded
"Haverstraw Water Supply Project," United Water must first gauge the
real supply, and real need, within the county.
Meeting the current and foreseeable future water needs of
Rockland is simply a matter of United Water complying with the New
York State Department of Environmental Conservation discharge permit
for Lake DeForest.
In 2007, United Water was fined by the New York State Department
of Environmental Conservation for the excess releases of water from
the Lake DeForest Reservoir that occurred that summer. As of October
2007, Lake DeForest was at 58 percent of its capacity, and officials
were concerned that a lack of adequate rain and snow over the coming
months could lead to water supply problems in the spring. United
Water's explanation for these excess releases was that a valve at
the Lake DeForest Dam was malfunctioning. However, there were other
mechanisms available to United Water for controlling the discharges.
After being fined by the DEC, United Water stopped the excess
releases. The defective valve was not replaced until many months
later. On Aug. 19, 2008, a Journal News editorial stated, "Drive
past Lake DeForest now, and it's brimming." In only 10 months,
Rockland's water supply was transformed from near crisis to
abundance.
Data from the United States Geological Survey indicates that
excess releases from Lake DeForest have been going on for decades.
United Water now claims, "Water must be released from Lake DeForest
to protect fish and wildlife farther downstream" and "United Water
cannot deprive New Jersey's ecosystem in order to retain more water
for Rockland's residents."
The state DEC Lake DeForest discharge permit was formulated not
only to allocate to Rockland County its share of Lake DeForest
water, but to also protect the Hackensack River ecosystem and
provide New Jersey with its share of the river's flow. There is no
authority for United Water to exceed the discharge provisions of
that permit.
The New York State Department of Conservation decision
authorizing the construction of Lake DeForest states, "This
Commission has the full power to see that this project is operated
solely for the benefit of the citizens of Rockland County. The only
benefit to the Hackensack Water Company (United Water New Jersey)
and the people of New Jersey is the incidental benefit of a
regulated flow in the river."
Even during periods of drought between 1991 through 2007, the
United States Geological Survey's Hackensack River West Nyack
monitoring station recorded an average flow of approximately 15
million gallons per day. As a result, the average flow to New Jersey
exceeded the amount permitted by the DEC by more than 7 million
gallons per day.
The New York State Public Service Commission has ordered United
Water to develop additional water supplies for Rockland County. In
response, United Water is now proposing to construct, on the Hudson
River in the vicinity of the Indian Point nuclear power plant, a
desalination plant known as the "Haverstraw Water Supply Project"
and is promoting that as "the best alternative to meet Rockland's
water needs."
The question is: Did the long history of excess discharges from
Lake DeForest prior to 2007 in violation of United Water's Lake
DeForest discharge permit, mislead the Public Service Commission to
erroneously conclude that Rockland County's water resources are less
abundant then they actually are?
In the summer of 2007, downriver from Lake DeForest at the
Oradell (N.J.) Reservoir, United Water was discharging 7.31 million
gallons per day. This is nearly as much water as the 7.5 million
gallons per day that the proposed Haverstraw desalination plant
would produce at full buildout and 5 million gallons per day more
than the historical daily median flow.
This occurred while United Water was beginning its
ratepayer-funded campaign to convince Rockland that a desalination
plant was the best alternative to meet the water needs of Rockland.
Responses posted on the LoHud website concerning this posting:
rirhodes wrote:
UW, to its shame, has officially opposed government mandated
water conservation, and it has most probably made fraudulent
representations regarding water sent to New Jersey.
Nevertheless, if it had been willing in the recent past to hire
competent demographers it would probably have found that
population growth in Rockland, primarily in Ramapo, will, if
unchecked, require our use of Hudson River water. But until we
have real water conservation and a real demographic analysis we
won't be able to make a rational decision regarding the need for
Hudson River water. And why hasn't our DO NOTHING county
legislature hired independent and competent experts to do
analyses of both our water needs and population growth? These
are the same folks who are willing to spends huge amounts of
money on our sewers but also refuse to hire independent experts
to look at sewer oveerflows and our huge future sewer expenses.
Robert I. Rhodes, Chairman, Preserve Ramapo,
www.PreserveRamapo.org.
dehalvemaen wrote:
Mr. Dillon is to be given much credit for revealing the diirty
secrets of UWNY/SUEZ. Why has the DEC, PSC and Rockland Health
Dept, not done its due diligence in establishing these
connections. INstead these departments are following the lead of
UWNY that has an interest first and foremost in its
stockholder's profit.
There are many issues about the proposed desallination plant
that do not make sense. However, bowing to corporate greed and
Haverstraw's dauntless effort to secure ratables at any expense
is not reason enough for Rockland County residents to drink
Hudson River water. Where else in the world is a desalination
plant built across from a nuclear power plant?
justcalmdown wrote:
Why not build a "grey water" plant in Orangetown and release
into the reservoir just north of NJ, all the potable water NJ
needs for drinking or to sustain the "ecology" that UW is so
concerned about?
Additional Facts
Find out more
• The Rockland Water Coalition comprises groups concerned with
the status of Rockland County's water supply, watershed health,
rivers, streams and aquifer. For their take on the Haverstraw Water
Supply Project, visit
www.sustainablerockland.org
• United Water New York provides information about its proposed
Hudson River Water Supply Project at
www.haverstrawwatersupplyproject.com