Introduction

The Watershed is actually divided into two separate systems -- the Catskill/Delaware Watershed and the Croton Watershed. The Catskill/Delaware Watershed, located approximately 100 miles northwest of New York City, provides 90 percent of the City's drinking water. It covers over 1,600 square miles of land in five counties, and consists of six major reservoirs -- the Ashokan and Schoharie Reservoirs of the Catskill System and the Rondout, Neversink, Pepacton, and Cannonsville Reservoirs of the Delaware System. Water originating from the Catskill system travels via the Catskill Aqueduct to the Kensico Reservoir in Westchester County, which serves as a balancing reservoir for both systems. Water from the Delaware System, on the other hand, travels under the Hudson River via the Delaware Aqueduct, which empties into the West Branch Reservoir, and eventually to the Kensico Reservoir.

The Croton Watershed, by contrast, covers approximately 375 square miles located entirely east of the Hudson River, and provides 10 percent of the City's drinking water. This system, which is linked to the Catskill/Delaware system through a series of underground aqueducts, consists of a total of 10 reservoirs and 3 controlled lakes with the capacity to hold 95 million gallons of water.

The "Memorandum of Agreement" or "MOA" is the vehicle that will guide implementation of the Watershed Protection Program, and consists of several components addressing different issues. The three main components of the MOA include the Land Acquisition Program, Watershed Rules and Regulations, and Watershed Protection and Partnership Programs. Each of these components are summarized separately in this guide.

In 1989, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) promulgated the Surface Water Treatment Rule (SWTR) to protect drinking water sources nationwide pursuant to the 1986 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments. These new rules mandated that all surface drinking water sources -- including the New York City water supply -- would have to meet certain water quality standards by June 1993 or be filtered. The City estimated that it would cost from $4 to $6 billion to filter the Catskill/Delaware supplies, which would more than double current water rates.

In September 1990, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection released a draft Watershed Protection Plan which included, among other things, revised watershed rules and regulations (which had not been updated since 1953) and a land acquisition plan. This draft document spurred opposition on the part of communities located within the watershed, and out of this opposition came the formation of the Coalition of Watershed Towns in 1991.

In January 1993, the USEPA issued the City a one-year "Filtration Avoidance Determination" or "FAD." As a condition of the FAD, the City was required to, among other things, issue final proposed Watershed Regulations, to begin to acquire land and conservation easements by June 30, 1994, and to upgrade sewage treatment plants in the Watershed.

Based on its determination that the preliminary conditions were met, the USEPA granted a second FAD in December 1993, effective until December 15, 1996. This second FAD stipulated, among other things, that the City must have satisfactory watershed protection programs in place, including revised Watershed Regulations that were to be in effect by September 30, 1994 (later changed to April 15, 1995). In addition, the City was required to commit to a land acquisition program that would result in the acquisition of at least 80,000 acres of land by December 31, 1999.¹

After years of controversy and litigation, which prevented the City from promulgating new regulations or from buying any land, Governor Pataki convened the interested parties in April 1995 to resolve the multitude of issues involving the Watershed. After seven months of intense negotiations, on November 2, 1995, the parties involved announced that they had reached an Agreement in Principle outlining the measures that would be taken to maintain and enhance the quality of the City's drinking water supply, while protecting the economic vitality and social character of watershed communities. Over one year later, that Agreement in Principle was translated into a Memorandum of Agreement which serves as the legal mechanism through which the "Watershed Protection Plan" will be implemented.

¹   It should be noted that under the terms of the final Watershed Agreement, this 80,000 acre goal is no longer applicable.