Future Fanatic
Nirvana
I thought this may be of interest to some of you. It's from Sunday's Press and Sun Bulletin out of Binghamton, NY.
The link: http://www.pressconnects.com/sunday/sports/stories/sp062605s174785.shtml
The column:
Rossie: Sides continue to feud over Delaware flow rates
DAVID ROSSIE Commentary
It's hard to imagine the Upper Delaware River system being strapped for water after the floods of early April, but that is what has happened during the intervening 60 days, and those April torrents brought it on.
Last week, Friends of the Upper Delaware, an organization that last year fought for but failed to get a year-around 600 cubic-feet-per-second minimum release regimen for the West Branch of the Delaware, issued a statement claiming that an alternate plan agreed upon by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Delaware River Basin Commission which mandates a minimum 225 cfs flow is responsible for dangerously high water temperatures in the Delaware's main stem below Hankins.
A statement released by Craig Findley, president of FUDR, said temperatures on the main stem in mid June "exceeded the lethal point for the cold-water fishery, and many dead trout have been seen along the river from Hankins to Callicoon."
The statement went on to argue that "the situation is a result of the Revision 7, 3-year interim flow plan approved last year by the DRBC , which states that additional water flowing into the Delaware from the Lackawaxen River and other rivers below the trout zone counts toward the Montague flow target set by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954."
That is not entirely accurate, according to Wayne Elliot, fisheries manager for the DEC's Region 3. What it neglects to mention is that the early April deluge was in large part responsible. An abnormally heavy flow from Mongaup Creek into the Swinging Bridge Reservoir during that flood created a crack in the reservoir's dam, that forced a drawdown of the reservoir to facilitate repairs.
That drawdown increased the flow of the Delaware's main stem, into which the Mongaup empties, to the extent that the Delaware Rivermaster did not have to order directed releases from the Cannonsville, Pepacton and Neversink impoundments to meet the mandated 1750 cfs flow at Montague, N.J.
That, in turn, forced the DEC to draw on its habitat water bank in those reservoirs, to cope with rising temperatures in the Neversink and the Delaware's two branches brought on by a spring heat wave and sparse rainfall in May and early June.
By mid-June a significant portion of that 20,000 cfs days bank had been depleted. "We had a meeting in Albany and decided, reluctantly, that we would have to stop the habitat releases or there would be nothing left for the summer months," Elliot said.
The DEC sought help from the DRBC and New York City's Department of Environmental Protection, in an effort to keep main stem temperatures from exceeding its targeted 75-degree maximum at Hankins, but none was forthcoming, despite the fact that the reservoirs were nearly full.
Elliot said the water temperature at Hankins reached a high of 78 degrees one day in mid June, and remained above 70 degrees for a few days, but was alleviated by a spell of cold weather.
In addition, Elliot said, trout in the main stem are able to find thermal refuge points where cooler water from feeder streams or underground springs enter the river. He also said Region 3 fisheries personnel had not seen any evidence of a fish kill on the river.
For whatever reason, the rivermaster finally got around to directing releases from Cannonsville last week. On Friday the flow at Hale Eddy below Deposit was over 800cfs.
Rossie is Associate Editor of the Press & Sun-Bulletin. His Wildlife Watch appears Sundays
The link: http://www.pressconnects.com/sunday/sports/stories/sp062605s174785.shtml
The column:
Rossie: Sides continue to feud over Delaware flow rates
DAVID ROSSIE Commentary
It's hard to imagine the Upper Delaware River system being strapped for water after the floods of early April, but that is what has happened during the intervening 60 days, and those April torrents brought it on.
Last week, Friends of the Upper Delaware, an organization that last year fought for but failed to get a year-around 600 cubic-feet-per-second minimum release regimen for the West Branch of the Delaware, issued a statement claiming that an alternate plan agreed upon by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Delaware River Basin Commission which mandates a minimum 225 cfs flow is responsible for dangerously high water temperatures in the Delaware's main stem below Hankins.
A statement released by Craig Findley, president of FUDR, said temperatures on the main stem in mid June "exceeded the lethal point for the cold-water fishery, and many dead trout have been seen along the river from Hankins to Callicoon."
The statement went on to argue that "the situation is a result of the Revision 7, 3-year interim flow plan approved last year by the DRBC , which states that additional water flowing into the Delaware from the Lackawaxen River and other rivers below the trout zone counts toward the Montague flow target set by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954."
That is not entirely accurate, according to Wayne Elliot, fisheries manager for the DEC's Region 3. What it neglects to mention is that the early April deluge was in large part responsible. An abnormally heavy flow from Mongaup Creek into the Swinging Bridge Reservoir during that flood created a crack in the reservoir's dam, that forced a drawdown of the reservoir to facilitate repairs.
That drawdown increased the flow of the Delaware's main stem, into which the Mongaup empties, to the extent that the Delaware Rivermaster did not have to order directed releases from the Cannonsville, Pepacton and Neversink impoundments to meet the mandated 1750 cfs flow at Montague, N.J.
That, in turn, forced the DEC to draw on its habitat water bank in those reservoirs, to cope with rising temperatures in the Neversink and the Delaware's two branches brought on by a spring heat wave and sparse rainfall in May and early June.
By mid-June a significant portion of that 20,000 cfs days bank had been depleted. "We had a meeting in Albany and decided, reluctantly, that we would have to stop the habitat releases or there would be nothing left for the summer months," Elliot said.
The DEC sought help from the DRBC and New York City's Department of Environmental Protection, in an effort to keep main stem temperatures from exceeding its targeted 75-degree maximum at Hankins, but none was forthcoming, despite the fact that the reservoirs were nearly full.
Elliot said the water temperature at Hankins reached a high of 78 degrees one day in mid June, and remained above 70 degrees for a few days, but was alleviated by a spell of cold weather.
In addition, Elliot said, trout in the main stem are able to find thermal refuge points where cooler water from feeder streams or underground springs enter the river. He also said Region 3 fisheries personnel had not seen any evidence of a fish kill on the river.
For whatever reason, the rivermaster finally got around to directing releases from Cannonsville last week. On Friday the flow at Hale Eddy below Deposit was over 800cfs.
Rossie is Associate Editor of the Press & Sun-Bulletin. His Wildlife Watch appears Sundays
