May 30, 2014

CONTACT:

deppressoffice@dep.nyc.gov, (845) 334-7868

Statement of Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Emily Lloyd on Extension of Flexible Flow Management Plan

“The one-year extension of the Flexible Flow Management Program (FFMP) announced today will allow the Decree Parties to continue negotiating complex and important issues related to the Delaware River. In the meantime, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will continue to work toward improvements in the FFMP that balance the maintenance of a reliable supply of water for 9.4 million people, with support for recreation, reducing the risk of floods, and many other interests that exist downstream. DEP will continue to operate under the current FFMP using the real-time data and advanced forecasting in our Operations Support Tool to ensure we are releasing and diverting water responsibly. Over the next year, DEP will work with our partners in the basin, using sound science, to negotiate what we hope will be a more long-lasting program that accounts for a reliable water supply for nearly half the state’s population and the needs of downstream stakeholders.”

For more information about the Flexible Flow Management Plan, please see information on the Office of the Delaware River Master website by clicking here.

DEP manages New York City’s water supply, providing more than one billion gallons of high quality water each day to more than 9 million New Yorkers. This includes more than 70 upstate communities and institutions in Ulster, Orange, Putnam and Westchester counties who consume an average of 110 million total gallons of drinking water daily from New York City’s water supply system. This water comes from the Catskill, Delaware, and Croton watersheds that extend more than 125 miles from the City, and the system comprises 19 reservoirs, three controlled lakes, and numerous tunnels and aqueducts. DEP has nearly 6,000 employees, including almost 1,000 scientists, engineers, surveyors, watershed maintainers and other professionals in the upstate watershed. In addition to its $70 million payroll and $157 million in annual taxes paid in upstate counties, DEP has invested more than $1.7 billion in watershed protection programs—including partnership organizations such as the Catskill Watershed Corporation and the Watershed Agricultural Council—that support sustainable farming practices, environmentally sensitive economic development, and local economic opportunity. In addition, DEP has a robust capital program with nearly $14 billion in investments planned over the next 10 years that will create up to 3,000 construction-related jobs per year. For more information, visit nyc.gov/dep, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/nycwater, or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/nycwater.