Q&A
Delaware River Basin Commission obligations and water release agreements
0:32:15
·
7 min
Paul Rush provides a detailed explanation of New York City's obligations under the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) and various water release agreements. The discussion covers the historical context, legal framework, and current operational challenges.
- NYC's water rights are governed by a 1954 Supreme Court decree and subsequent agreements
- The city must meet flow targets at Montague, NJ, and potentially at Trenton, NJ
- During drought conditions, there are scaled cutbacks on water diversion and release
- The city released up to 1 billion gallons per day into the Delaware River during recent dry conditions
Jim Gennaro
0:32:15
Let's just play out the whole drought scenario a little bit.
0:32:21
I know I'm kinda breaking my promise, to be very brief, but as things pop into my head, I I I just want to get them out before I forget.
0:32:29
The city, as you know, most people know, is part of the, Delaware River Basin Commission, and we have obligations to kind of spill water into the Delaware River to serve Philadelphia and other cities.
0:32:46
If push came to shove, and we're really jammed up, in a drought situation, how much leeway or flexibility does the city have to hold back on how much we spill onto the Delaware River for downstream communities?
0:33:04
I mean, like, how hard and fast is that?
0:33:06
I mean So it could be because we we have our commitment, whatever it is, and then maybe if we've got the water, we're like a little more generous.
0:33:14
I don't really know how it works.
0:33:16
So I think sometimes we can be like a little more generous if we have the water, but do we have the ability under the DRBC compact to be a little more stingy?
0:33:25
And you would know about that, and I don't.
0:33:27
So how does that work?
0:33:28
Because I'm thinking about that as a potential contingency if we really got jammed up in a drought.
0:33:33
How much leeway do we have when it comes to and also how much water do we spill, you know, into the, you know, into the Delaware from Philadelphia and other cities?
0:33:43
If you could just take us through that, I'd appreciate it.
Robert Holden
0:33:45
Sure.
Paul Rush
0:33:46
So there the Delaware River system in New York City taking water out of the Delaware is pretty complicated.
0:33:54
They're 2 different governing entities.
0:33:58
So the city takes water out of the Delaware pursuant to a Supreme Court decree.
0:34:05
First case was decided in 1931.
0:34:07
US Supreme Court.
0:34:09
US Supreme Court.
0:34:09
US Supreme.
0:34:10
Then in 1954, there was an amended decree that allowed the city to construct the Cannonsville reservoir, the last major reservoir that was constructed in our system, completed in 1964, went into official operations in 1969?
0:34:25
19 yes.
0:34:28
So, Cannonsville, that's our Delaware system.
0:34:31
So, the decree dictates water and how much water we can the city can take, and the city is a party to the decree.
0:34:39
There are 5 parties, the 4 basin states, plus New York City.
0:34:44
Later, under the Kennedy Administration, the Delaware River Basin Compact was signed, and the Delaware River Basin Compact consists of the federal government, plus the 4 basin states.
0:34:54
In that venue, New York City is not a member of the commission, but we are an official adviser to New York State.
0:35:03
The drought of the 1960s, the record drought for the New York City system, was worse than what the allocations were made upon, the Supreme Court predicated allocations upon 1954.
0:35:17
The drought that was the drought of record then was the drought of the 19 thirties.
0:35:21
The drought of the 19 sixties was much, much worse, and the allocations did not support the needs.
0:35:28
The flow targets downstream, the diversions to New York City.
0:35:33
After that occurred, there was a series of negotiations and discussions that culminated in the good faith agreements in the 19 eighties that set up rules to cut back flows to New York City, to the river, and to New Jersey based on different stages of drought.
0:35:51
And, drought was defined in the Delaware River Basin Commission on the storage in the 3 New York City reservoirs on the Delaware River Saint, Papactan, and Canonsville.
0:36:02
That determines drought criteria in the Delaware Basin.
0:36:05
Since that time, there have been a series of negotiations by the decree parties to set up a new program called the Flexible Flow Management Program, which we proactively release water from our systems when it's available downstream to provide benefits environmental benefits, fisheries benefits, and protecting the water supply when we have water.
0:36:28
But when conditions are dry, there's a flow target we have to meet at Montague, New Jersey.
0:36:35
And this fall, as runoff or has influenced our reservoirs approached levels that we had not seen till the 1960s, we were meeting the normal flow target at Mauna Q, which was 17 50 cubic feet per second.
0:36:51
Plus, since our reservoirs were in normal condition under the Delaware under the Good Faith Agreements, we can be directed by DRBC to release additional water for a flow target Trenton, New Jersey that's managed by DRBC.
0:37:05
So, we were, this fall, meeting flow targets at Montague plus Trenton, and we were releasing, at times, a 1000000000 gallons a day into the Delaware River, which was as much a demand on our system as was for the rest of the system.
0:37:21
And our as as storage conditions decrease, drought conditions get worse, there's scaled cutbacks on how much water we can take and how much water we can release and how much water New Jersey can divert out of there.
0:37:35
So, this is a constant negotiation.
0:37:38
We have little wiggle room when it comes to that, but through the negotiating process and better forecasting and monitoring, the system works, and that because we had the Delaware system offline, we had a higher than normal amount of water in that Delaware system during that time, and now we're rebalancing it.
Jim Gennaro
0:38:02
Yeah.
0:38:02
But it it it it seems that we're a little, you know, I don't want to put words in your mouth, but it seems like we're a little locked in on our basic commitments that that that we have to come through, like, no matter what.
0:38:14
Is that is that a fair assessment?
Paul Rush
0:38:18
We are we're locked in in the commitments to the decree through the flexible flow management.
0:38:23
Yes.
0:38:24
We are, and we're in the process of doing studies to look on how to how the the requirements could be adjusted in the future to better protect the city of New York and the entire entire basin.
Jim Gennaro
0:38:38
Yeah.
0:38:38
But it it it seems to me, and I don't know if this is, you you know, kind of a bridge too far, If the if the downstream communities, Trenton, Philadelphia, or whatever, like, you know, you know, you know them better than I do, is there any possibility that, they could build more robust holding capacity in the form of, like, other reservoirs or whatever, so that, they can be satisfied when, you know, that that they can hold water, you know, just in case we have to hold back.
0:39:21
It it it seems like that would that be something that could be considered and talked about in these good faith negotiations to have our partners downstream say, hey.
0:39:35
Look.
0:39:35
Like, we're willing, you know, to give you the water when we have it, but you're have a little bit of an obligation here, you know, to build, you know, holding reservoir capacity so that if times get lean, you'll you'll have the water ahead of time, and then you use it as we struggle with our own drought situation.
0:40:02
Is that the kind of thing that New York City can put on the table?
