Speakers seek proof that muddy discharges harmless
Participants in a state hearing Wednesday about the release of muddy water from the Ashokan Reservoir into the Lower Esopus Creek pressed Department of Environmental Conservation officials about New York City’s claims that the practice is harmless.
The city, which operates the reservoir in central Ulster County, releases up to 600 million gallons of muddy water per day into the creek, often turning the 32-mile stretch of waterway from Olivebridge to Saugerties a chocolate brown. The process keeps the water from reaching the city’s Kensico Reservoir, downstate, and ultimately customers’ faucets.
The state DEC is in the process of deciding whether to allow the discharges to continue indefinitely. Wednesday’s hearing was the second on the issue in the period of a month.
About 20 people spoke during Wednesday’s audioconference hearing, including Kingston Mayor Steve Noble and state Sen. Michelle Hinchey, D-Saugerties.
Hinchey asked for studies that include specifics about how worsening storms could impact the city’s need to make the releases and how that would impact the creek, which meets the Hudson River in her town.
“With climate change making extreme weather events more frequent and intense, we need a better understanding of the current mechanism for monitoring
and remediating turbid releases,” Hinchey said. “These concerns are particularly important in light of the storm we experienced in late December, which resulted in high levels of turbid muddy water being discharged.”
Those releases continued until about two weeks ago, at which point the city started shutting off the muddy flow periodically to “flush” the creek with clear water for 36 hours at a time before resuming the muddy flow.
Noble, a staunch environmentalist, cited information in the city’s environmental impact statement and conveyed it with a visual image in the audioonly format.
“Based on the data provided by New York City DEP (Department of Environmental Protection), so far the amount of sediment is literally the equivalent of dumping six dump trucks per day of clay into the creek,” he said.
Paul Malmrose, a consultant for seven area communities that draw drinking water from the Hudson River — the towns of Esopus, Lloyd and Hyde Park; the town and village of Rhinebeck; and the town and city of Poughkeepsie — said they are upset about the absence of detailed studies regarding the impact of the muddy discharges on public water systems.
Paul Gallay, of the Hudson River advocacy group Riverkeeper, agreed that impacts on the river have been given only superficial attention in studies used by the city.
“New York City is trying to safeguard its drinking water supply on the backs of the downstream communities,” he said.
“DEP rejected all structural alternatives with cursory and wholly insufficient three-paragraph evaluations,” Gallay added. “That is not a hard look. In fact, it’s hardly any look at all.
Written comments about the discharges are being accepted through 5 p.m. June 16. They can be emailed to deppermitting@dec. ny.gov or mailed to Kristen Cady-Poulin, NYS DEC Division of Environmental Permits, 625 Broadway, Albany, N.Y. 12233.