NYS Department of Environmental Conservation October 7, 2013
Hudson River Watershed
Management and Issues:
A Watershed Dinner Story
Westchester Water Works Conference
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Outline
• Quick Estuary Program Overview
• Watershed Observations and
Characterization
• Watershed management strategies
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Hudson River Estuary
Program
Conserving the Hudson River
and its watershed for all its
residents
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
1. Protecting fish, wildlife & habitats
The Estuary is crucial habitat
for many species, such as sturgeon.
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
2. Providing river access for all:
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Sea level is rising
Water levels at Manhattan are up
15 inches in the last 150 years
Winter temps up 5 degrees (F)
3. Adapting to Climate Change
Threads through all our work
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Waterfronts are flooding
Kingston in 2005
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
4. Conserving
Renowned Scenery
Our forests, wetlands, mountains
& streams are part of this scenic
beauty
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
5. Ensuring Clean Water
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
What is a Watershed?
The land and water
that drain to a
common outlet.
*Typically <1% is
actually water
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
HR Watershed
Entire watershed
~13,500 mi2
Lower Hudson (below Troy)
~ 5,300 square miles
~ 8,860 miles of mapped
streams
~ 65 named direct tribs
~ 1,400 lakes/ponds
~ 324 significant
lakes/ponds
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Estuary-tributary
connections
Spring Summer
Winter
• Important coastal habitat
• Hydrology – freshwater
• Nutrients (e.g., carbon)
• Pollutants
Its also about us
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Characterizing the Hudson
Estuary Watershed:
• Observations
• Infrastructure
• Quality
• And some anecdotes
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Very Nice Streams and
Watersheds…
We need to map and
highlight healthy waters.
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
But, watersheds are changing
Encroaching on streams – removing vegetation
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Disturbing and Paving over the
watershed
Roads and parking lots account for
a high % of total imperv surface
Interrupting hydrologic cycle
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Impervious
Surface by
County
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Stormwater & Nonpoint
Source Pollution
• No systematic inventory but
everywhere.
• Quassaick Watershed - over 100
inventoried ponds. Doesn’t include
older developments.
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Effects of Impervious Surface
on Stream Stability and Health
Impervious surface increases <10%
Stable
Protected
Unstable
Non-supporting
25-30%
Water velocity increases Erosion sediment, and nutrient loading
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Aging Water Infrastructure
Wallkill R., New Paltz, stormwater
overloads wastewater collection
system
We are still relying on these
pipes in many places
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Leaky Collection Systems
and Sewage Spills
Newburgh, Quassaick Creek
2012
Troy, Wynants Kill, 2013
Sewage Right to Know Law
- 665 spills May through Oct
- 84MG
- Causes – weather, blockages, and insufficient
capacity
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
CSOs on the Hudson
Poughkeepsie: 6 outfalls
Yonkers: 26 outfalls
Catskill: 6 outfalls
Hudson: 10 outfalls
Newburgh: 12 outfalls
Kingston: 7 outfalls
Albany Pool - Albany, Rensselaer, Troy, East Greenbush, Bethlehem, & Watervliet: 92 outfalls
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Wastewater
Plants
• 373 plants
• 77 needing
significant
improvements (NYSEFC Intended Use Plan)
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Dams DEC regulated
Almost 2,000 “known” dams
Unknown dams everywhere
Woodbury Creek (Moodna
watershed)
3 dams per stream mile
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Aging Dams
• Median date
built - 1953
• Design life
often 50 years
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Irene
Affected
Dams
Over 30 dams affected
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Bridges and Culverts
• Transportation infrastructure, but we should
think of them as water infrastructure as well.
• Vulnerable areas of human/nature conflict
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
After A Big Storm
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Road Closures
and Damage
from TS
Irene/Lee
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
River Gages
Approximately 25
gages in the HV set
new flood state records
during TS Irene
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Damaging the Natural
Infrastructure that Protects Water
Wetlands, forests, and floodplain
- Free
- Effective
- Sustainable
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Signficant Disturbance to
Small Streams
• We treat them as ditches
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Water
Supplies in
the Hudson
Valley
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
• ~2M people served by 700 community public water supply systems in the Hudson River estuary watershed (Non-NYC System)
• Surface water – 131 public systems serving 82% of the population
• Groundwater – 569 public systems serving 18% of the population
Community Water Systems in the Hudson River Estuary Watershed
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Water supply
watersheds
are
threatened
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
~450,000 customers affected
Average notice lasted for 11 days
Boil Water Notices: Irene/Lee
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Boil Water Notices During
Irene Research
• Weak, exposed points in the
distribution system played the primary
role in whether a BWN was issued
– E.g., pipes breaking at on bridges
• More forested the water district and
distribution area = higher vulnerability
• More prior violations (2009) = less
vulnerable
– Maintenance helped?
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
DEC Measures Change in
Streams in Two ways
• Human-based ‘best use’ or
classification
– Whether it meets CWA
“fishable/swimmable goals”
• Biological condition based on
stream critters
VS.
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Human Based Best Use
• ~20% of streams/rivers don’t meet use
(drinking, swimming, fishing propagation,
fish survival)
– Agriculture and urban/suburban runoff
• ~61% of lakes/reservoirs don’t meet use
– Atmos. deposit. and urban/suburban runoff
• Streams being listed as impaired outpaces
those being restored
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Current Status
of Water
Quality based
on Stream
Invertebrates
(biomonitoring)
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Biomonitoring Results and
Trends
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Riverkeeper’s Citizen
Science Water Quality
Study
– 155 testing sites (+ exploratory)
– Monthly testing: May –Nov
– Enterococcus (“Entero”): a fecal contamination indicator
– 74 Hudson River sites
– 81 Tributary sites
– Sparkill Creek
– Pocantico River
– Wallkill River
– Rondout Creek
– Esopus Creek
– Catskill Creek
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Two Terms That I think
Describe our Trends
• Urban Stream Syndrome
– describes the consistently observed
ecological degradation of streams draining
urban land.
• Migration to Mediocracy
– Converging of high and low quality streams
to a mediocre state.
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
As Watershed Leaders….
Some Strategies You Should
Advocate to Minimize Impacts
to Water Resources
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Take a
“Watershed
Approach”
First and Foremost!
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Create
Partnerships
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
1. Ensure Downstream Needs Have an environmental release/flow policy
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
2. Maximize Green Infrastructure: Minimize Impervious Surfaces
http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/58930.html
• Infiltrate stormwater – Don’t lose it to runoff.
Capture as groundwater for future needs
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
3. Protect and
Restore
Streamsides
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
4. Identify and Replace
Undersized Stream Crossings
and Remove Derelict Dams
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
4. Manage
Road Ditches
and Runoff
Better
They are
sediment conduits
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
5. Institute Comprehensive Raw
Water Quality Monitoring Prog.
• Wadable Assessments by Volunteer
Evaluators (WAVE)
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
6. Advocate for Improvements
to Wastewater Infrastructure
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
7. Stay away from streams
and out of Floodplains!
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
8. Protect Remaining
Wetlands and Priority Forests
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
9. Adopt Local Water Strategies
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Scott Cuppett
Hudson River Estuary Program
NYS Dept of Env. Conservation
Tel. 845/256-3029