New York City’s municipal water supply system provides about 1 billion gallons of drinking water a day to over 8.5 million people in New York City and about 1 million people living in nearby Westchester, Putnam, Ulster, and Orange counties. The combined water supply system includes 19 reservoirs and three controlled lakes with a total storage capacity of approximately 580 billion gallons. The city’s Watershed Protection Program is intended to maintain and enhance the high quality of these surface water sources. Review of the New York City Watershed Protection Program assesses the efficacy and future of New York City’s watershed management activities. The report identifies program areas that may require future change or action, including continued efforts to address turbidity and responding to changes in reservoir water quality as a result of climate change.

Contents

• The National Academies of SCIENCES • ENGINEERING • MEDICINE
• COMMITTEE TO REVIEW THE NEW YORK CITY WATERSHED PROTECTION PROGRAM
• WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY BOARD
• Reviewers
• Preface
• Summary
  • ECOLOGICAL, HISTORICAL, AND CULTURAL ANTECEDENTS
  • NEW YORK CITY’S WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM
  • CURRENT CONDITIONS, TRENDS, AND FUTURE STRESSORS
  • WATERSHED AGRICULTURAL PROGRAM
  • STREAM MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
  • LAND ACQUISITION PROGRAM
  • WASTEWATER PROGRAMS
  • STORMWATER PROGRAM
  • ECOSYSTEM PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS
  • PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAMS
  • WATER QUALITY MONITORING, ASSESSMENT, AND MODELING
  • CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
• 1. Introduction
  • MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT
  • COMPONENTS OF THE WATERSHED PROTECTION PROGRAM
  • PROGRESS OVER 20 YEARS
  • ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT
  • REFERENCES
• 2. The Land and the People—Ecological, Historical, and Cultural Antecedents
  • GEOLOGY, SOILS, AND VEGETATION
  • THE FOREST
  • INDIGENOUS PEOPLE AND THE COLONIAL ERA
  • EARLY EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT
  • 19TH CENTURY INDUSTRIES AND COMMUNITIES
  • TWO WORLDS MEET
  • 20TH CENTURY CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC LANDSCAPE
  • 21ST CENTURY CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC LANDSCAPE
  • THE HUMAN DIMENSIONS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NYC WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM
  • NEGOTIATING THE MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT
  • SUMMARY
  • REFERENCES
• 3. New York City’s Water Supply System: Past, Present, and Future
  • DEVELOPMENT OF THE WATER SUPPLY
  • NYC WATER SUPPLY TODAY
  • REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR FILTRATION AVOIDANCE
  • FUTURE SYSTEM OPERATION, REGULATIONS, AND CONCERNS
  • CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 4. Current Conditions, Trends, and Future Stressors
  • CLIMATE AND HYDROLOGIC REGIME
  • LAND USE AND LAND COVER
  • POLLUTANTS IN THE WATERSHED AND THEIR SOURCES
  • THREATS ASSOCIATED WITH CLIMATE CHANGE
  • CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 5. Watershed Agricultural Program
  • PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
  • PROGRAM EFFECTIVENESS
  • PROGRAM EVALUATION
  • CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 6. Stream Management Program
  • INTRODUCTION TO CATSKILLS STREAMS AND STREAM MANAGEMENT
  • PROGRAM EVALUATION
  • CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 7. Land Protection and Management Programs
  • LAND ACQUISITION PROGRAM
  • RECREATION
  • CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 8. Wastewater Programs
  • WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT PROGRAMS
  • SEPTIC SYSTEMS
  • REFERENCES
• 9. Stormwater Programs
  • PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
  • PROGRAM EFFECTIVENESS
  • PROGRAM EVALUATION
  • CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 10. Ecosystem Protection and Management Programs
  • FORESTS AND FORESTRY
  • WETLANDS PROGRAM
  • INVASIVE SPECIES PROGRAMS
  • CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 11. Public Health Systems
  • WATERBORNE DISEASE SURVEILLANCE
  • MICROBIAL MONITORING
  • WATERFOWL MANAGEMENT
  • CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 12. Understanding the Watershed: Monitoring, Assessment, and Modeling
  • MONITORING AND STATISTICAL ASSESSMENTS
  • WATERSHED MODELING
  • RESERVOIR WATER QUALITY MODELS
  • OPERATIONS SUPPORT TOOL
  • CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 13. Understanding and Assessing Community Vitality
  • PREVIOUS ASSESSMENTS
  • STUDYING COMMUNITY WELL-BEING
  • CONTRIBUTIONS OF NYC DEP SUBPROGRAMS
  • BARRIERS TO SOCIOECONOMIC ANALYSIS
  • CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 14. Frameworks for Balancing and Improved Integration
  • PROGRAM EVALUATION
  • COORDINATION ACROSS THE WATERSHED PROTECTION PROGRAM
  • WATERSHED PROTECTION FOR THE LONG TERM
  • CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
  • REFERENCES
• Acronyms
• Appendix A. Technical Appendix on Trend Analysis
• Appendix B. Critique and Suggestions Regarding Current Water Quality Trend Reporting Approaches
• Appendix C. Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff

Suggested citation:

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. Review of the New York City Watershed Protection Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25851.

Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/25851

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