New York City s Watershed Protection Program David S. Warne Assistant Commissioner New York City Department of Environmental Protection
Presentation Outline Water Supply System Overview Watershed Program Development Watershed Protection Programs & Accomplishments to Date Program Costs Lessons Learned 2
Primarily a surface water supply 19 reservoirs & 3 controlled lakes System Capacity: 550 billion gallons Serves 9 million people (1/2 of population of New York State) Delivers approx. 1.1 billion gallons per day to the City Source of water is a 2,000 square mile watershed in parts of 8 upstate counties Watershed is entirely outside NYC boundaries parts tributary to Delaware River Upstate resentment regarding system development 3
CROTON WATER SUPPLY Supplies about 10% of City s s daily needs (can supply up to 30% in times of drought) Located East of the Hudson River Oldest part of system Built primarily in 19 th Century Watershed is now suburban in character Is currently unfiltered, but City is under Consent Decree to construct filtration plant by 2011 4
New Croton Reservoir In service since 1905 19 billion gallon capacity 5
CATSKILL/DELAWARE SUPPLIES Rural, mountainous watershed 1 million acres 80% forested, low population, significant agricultural uses Shallow soils and porous rock produce high quality water UV facility under construction 6
Ashokan Reservoir In service since 1915 122.9 billion gallon capacity 7
Pepacton Reservoir In service since 1955 140.2 billion gallon capacity 8
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Issues Driving City to Watershed Protection The Safe Drinking Water Act of 1986 and the Surface Water Treatment Rule of 1989 established objective and subjective criteria for avoidance Concern over whether City could meet subjective criteria City owned less than 8% of watershed City regulations outmoded City alarmed by potential cost of filtration plant estimated at $4-8 billion capital + $300 million/year operating Firm belief by NYC that reliance on end-of-pipe solutions alone is not prudent; best approach is to protect quality of water at its source 10
Assessment of Water Quality Threats & Program Design Comprehensive monitoring program began in late 1980s Primary pollutants of concern are microbes, nutrients & sediment City has applied for and received filtration waivers Programs to target threats designed 1991-1995 entrepreneurial phase 11
Watershed Memorandum of Agreement Local opposition to watershed protection MOA established collaborative approach between City, State, watershed residents, environmental groups and regulators Signed in 1997 Allowed City to proceed with Watershed Regulations, Land Acquisition and Partnership Programs City had to agree to fund programs 12
Contractual Arrangements DEP contracted with local public, private and non-profit entities to use City ratepayer funding to implement programs Groups include Catskill Watershed Corporation, Watershed Agricultural Council and county agencies All contracts subject to City procurement rules 13
How is Watershed Protection Funded? DEP is funded by water and sewer rates Revenues/expenses managed by NYC Municipal Water Finance Authority (est. 1984) Revenues collected by WFA are independent from other NYC funding and cannot be diverted to other NYC programs Rates average among 24 largest cities The WFA collected $2 billion in 2008. Nearly $1 billion used for water supply operations 14 and debt service
Watershed Protection Program 15
Key Elements of Watershed Protection Watershed Rules & Regulations Land Acquisition Agriculture & Forestry Programs Partnership Programs Wastewater Infrastructure Programs Stream Management Program 16
Targeted Pollutants by Program Program Microbes Nutrients Septic Rehabilitation Septic Maintenance New Infrastructure CWMP WWTP Upgrades Sewer Extensions Stormwater Retrofits Farm Program Stream Program Sediment Waterfowl Program EOH NPS Program WR&R Enforcement Catskill Turbidity
Watershed Rules & Regulations Updated in 1997 to address contemporary concerns: WWTPs, septic systems and stormwater runoff Designed to protect sensitive areas: streams, wetlands, reservoirs and steep slopes 1,000s of projects reviewed to date Field inspections conducted during construction 18
Turbidity From Construction Muscoot Reservoir 19
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Land Acquisition Program Willing seller/willing buyer only Fee or CE City pays fair market value, based on appraisal Land divided into priority areas City pays property taxes on land acquired City allows recreational uses where consistent with water quality protection and public safety Over 96,000 acres purchased to date Farm Easements also being acquired 21
Cat/Del Priority Areas 1A within 60-day travel time; near intakes 1B within 60 -day travel time; not near intakes 2 terminal reservoirs 3 identified water quality issues 4 all remaining areas Croton Priority Areas A terminal reservoir; connections to Delaware B within 60 -day travel time C all remaining area Natural features criteria 22
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Watershed Agricultural Program 1,000 farms in watershed 350 characterized as large Voluntary Program nearly 90% of farms signed up ~4,000 BMPs implemented 75,000 acres managed under WFPs 1,775 acres of stream buffers protected through Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program New initiatives on small farms and EOH farms 24
Watershed Agricultural Program Grommeck Farm before 25
Watershed Agricultural Program Grommeck Farm after 26
Watershed Agricultural Program One year later 27
Watershed Forestry Programs Developing Forest Management Plan for City-owned lands 80,000+ privately-owned acres with Forest Management Plans Nearly 2,000 acres covered by riparian plans BMP Implementation Logger Training 28
Partnership Programs 2,500+ failing septic systems remediated Septic system O&M program initiated 30 sand & salt storage facilities upgraded Nearly 50 stormwater retrofits funded $60 million fund established to encourage environmentally-sensitive economic development 29
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Wastewater Infrastructure Programs WWTPs being upgraded to tertiary treatment (25 WOH, ~70 EOH) 7 new WWTPs being constructed WOH 9 existing WWTPs WOH being consolidated into new facilities Sewer extensions funded in 5 communities served by City-owned WWTPs Community Wastewater Management Program providing community solutions to septic problems 31
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Catskill Turbidity Control 33
Turbidity 34
Catskill Turbidity Long duration events require operational modifications and/or treatment with alum 35
Turbidity Control Programs Catskill system prone to elevated turbidity levels due to underlying geology Alum treatment is effective but may have localized, temporary environmental impacts Turbidity curtain pilot Modeling and evaluation of engineering alternatives for Schoharie & Ashokan 3 phases Operations Support Tool being developed 36
Stream Management Program Stabilizes failing stream beds and banks to prevent erosion Series of Management Plans and Demonstration Projects underway 25 restoration projects complete 5 Stream Management Plans complete Promotes sound stream protection practices with local partners Community participation key to program success 37
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2007 FAD Highlights 2007 FAD is the first to cover a 10-year period Represents endorsement of DEP s program by regulatory agencies Supports a vision of sustainable watershed protection Builds on existing programs & partnerships City will allocate an additional $241 Million for Land Acquisition (over 10 years) Additional $175 Million for other FAD programs (over 5 years) 40
What does it all cost? Program Cost New Infrastructure Program $96,664,016 Community Wastewater Program $53,000,000 Septic Rehabilitation & Maintenance Programs $56,000,000 Sewer Extension Program $15,800,000 Wastewater Plant Upgrades (non-city-owned) $400,000,000 Wastewater Plant Upgrades (City-owned) $240,000,000 Alternate Design Septic System Program $3,000,000 Stormwater Retrofits $20,000,000 Future Stormwater Controls $31,700,000 Farms & Forestry $107,000,000 Land Acquisition (includes farm easements) $541,000,000 Stream Management Program $81,000,000 Kensico Water Quality Protection Program $20,000,000 East of Hudson Non-Point Source Control Program $38,000,000 Miscellaneous Programs - CFF, Good Neighbor, etc. $97,300,000 Total $1,800,464,016
Things That Keep Me Up At Night Climate Change Invasive Species Natural Gas Contaminants of Emerging Concern Fragile Partnerships 42
Lessons Learned Public vs. Self Interest Identify Early Adopters Pick the Low Hanging Fruit Get Science on Your Side Provide Tech Support Take Advantage of Existing Entities Educate Users 43
Conclusions 16 years of maintaining watershed protection and counting! Water quality remains excellent Water quality improvements linked to protection programs Partnerships with local entities key Tremendous track record of achievement 44
Questions? 45