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In Response to 'Managing the Delaware System Reservoirs'
Op-Ed Contributor
In Response to "Managing the Delaware System Reservoirs"
By Val Sigstedt
Carol Collier, Executive Director of the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) wrote a calming but misleading letter ("Managing the Delaware System Reservoirs" - NYT 5/4/08) saying things are well in hand on the Delaware River downstream of the New York reservoirs.
Who could tell from her iteration of faith in her own organization that those reservoirs, which were designed only for water supply fifty years ago, are not equipped to manage large buildups of water because they do not have floodgates. The water just accumulates in the brimful reservoirs as it was designed to do.
Now the tunnel which is supposed to empty 800 million gallons of water every day from the reservoirs barely manages 500 mgd because it is in deteriorating condition, according to NYC Comptroller DiNapoli's 2007 Report to NYDEP on the Leaks in the Delaware Aqueduct: It could be collapsing; possibly the tunnel will have to be "de-watered" for a long time. Then all hope is lost to save the downstream Delaware from run of the river flooding and possibly even catastrophic breaches of the dams.
Executive Director Collier needs to put all of the powers at the DRBC into stipulating to the terrifying situation I just accurately described. She needs to promise to promote and get life-respecting, modern infrastructure on the Delaware River to demonstrate that the DRBC is the right organizational form to be the river's spokespersons.
Val Sigstedt
P.O. Box 263,
Point Pleasant, PA 18950
artlight@comcast.net
judythpiazza@newsblaze.com
Tags: Tags: Opinions, Environment, delaware
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