Members of the Project Advisory Committee met at the Wawarsing Town Hall on Tuesday, June 8, at 4 p.m. to discuss the continuing developments regarding the flooded homes on and around Route 209, which many residents believe to be the result of the leaking Delaware Aqueduct which runs underneath the town to supply water to New York City.

Present at the meeting were Ira Stern and Lori Emory of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYC DEP), James Rodden of the Ulster County Health Department, Tom Story of the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), Lori DuBord (a representative of Congressman Maurice Hinchey), and residents Laura Smith and Julianne Lennon. There were also about fifteen residents in the audience, with Town Supervisor Ed Jennings and his wife Nancy and Town Highway Superintendant Gil Davis among them, the Jenningses living down the street from Smith.

Stern, who is the Regional Manager for the DEP out of Grahamsville, led the meeting through the agenda, and asked that the group finalize and formalize the stated goal of the committee: "To approach in an organized way the water problems in Wawarsing with a special emphasis on the role of the leak in the Delaware Aqueduct."

The group then turned their attention to the latest development facing the flooded region: that of Health Department's findings of e. coli and coliform bacteria in the drinking water of many of the homes in the area. Rodden discussed that the bacterial contaminants were largely found in shallow, dug wells, and not in drilled wells which tap aquifers deep underground. Because the contamination could be caused by any number of sources, such as nearby animals, water runoff from farms, or faulty septic systems, he said it was too early a point in the investigation to determine whether or not the leaking aqueduct caused the situation. He said that a dye test could be used to help determine the source of the contamination, but such a test would have to go through many channels, including the state and federal health departments, before it could be performed. With further tests on wells in the area yet to be performed, Laura Smith suggested that more wells in the surrounding region outside of the routinely flooded region be tested as well so as to get a clearer picture as to the area affected. She also suggested testing wells of homeowners who don't have basements, who may not have signed up to have their wells tested in the first place because they don't experience floods like those with basements do.

NYC DEP's Lori Emory spoke about her organization's own findings, concurring with much of what the Health Department had found with their own testing, and adding findings of phytoplankton in many of the wells. The findings suggest that surface water was getting into the wells, which, like the Health Department's findings, could be caused from any number of sources. In short, while the findings don't rule out the aqueduct's role in the flooding and the contamination, this early stage in the study process has yet to yield any conclusive results.

The DOT's Tom Story spoke next to tell the committee that he and his crew have begun working to clean out and maintain the stormwater drainage system on Route 209. He said that the drainage systems along the road were all functioning properly, and at that, many residents began to speak up about different culverts and pipes they knew of that were blocked or damaged. Story responded that many of those pipes were not on state roads, and as such, not under his jurisdiction. This turned the attention to Supervisor Jennings and Superintendant Davis, who were asked to address the issue at the next town council meeting, scheduled for Thursday of this week.

Supervisor Jennings also responded to requests for drainage to be added to Smith Road, saying that the project has been explored by their engineers, Lanc & Tully, and that it would cost between $75,000 and $80,000 of the town's money, and might not even help everyone on that road. At that, Smith and other residents said that adding drainage could only help the situation, even if it's not the permanent fix to the flooding problem, since those who are flooded are only able to pump water into other people's yards. One resident suggested that the town look into state or federal grants to offset the cost of such a project.

Lori DuBord from Congressman Hinchey's office spoke, saying that the congressman appreciated everything the DEP had been doing so far, but wondered if more could be done on their end to help compensate the expenses and hardships the affected residents are enduring. Requests to meet with DEP Commissioner Emily Lloyd herself were made to Stern, though no confirmation of such an appearance was given.

Finally, the group settled on their next meeting date: July 29 at 6 p.m., a later time to allow more affected residents to attend. The meeting place was not decided, but the Napanoch Firehouse was suggested.

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