The federal Safe Drinking Water Act requires operators of public drinking water systems to filter drinking water supplies. However, because water in the New York City system is high-quality and meets existing federal and state water quality standards, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allowed the City to avoid building a multi-billion dollar filtration plant for the Catskill/Delaware system in exchange for implementing a variety of watershed protection programs to protect source waters throughout the NYC watershed.

In 1997, the Filtration Avoidance Determination (FAD) was issued along with the Watershed Memorandum of Agreement that laid out the details of the protection programs required by the FAD. The first FAD was revised and renewed in 2002, and again in 2007.

Riverkeeper, as a member of the Clean Drinking Water Coalition, actively advocates for FAD improvements during each renewal period. Among our chief concerns are:

• securing adequate funding and staff for the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH), which has assumed “primacy” from EPA and taken on the primary responsibility for monitoring the City’s implementation of watershed protection programs and enforcing the FAD;
  
  
• expanding successful protection programs to the East-of-Hudson Cross River and Croton Falls Reservoir basins (which, at times, can feed into the Catskill/Delaware system);
  
  
• ensuring permanent measures are taken to control turbidity in the Schoharie Reservoir and Esopus Creek;
  
  
• improving the land acquisition program so that it better utilizes local land trusts; and
  
  
• achieving a stepped-up timetable for completion of overdue system upgrades and repairs.

A strong 2007 FAD can save the City and ratepayers billions of dollars while protecting the environment and quality of life for watershed residents. Riverkeeper will remain vigilant and make sure that NYSDOH is a diligent enforcer of the FAD, just as we push DEP to diligently enforce the rules and regulation throughout the watershed.

Riverkeeper's comments submitted to the City and EPA during FAD renewal periods are available under "Related Info" to the right.

To read the CDWC's recently released DEP Report Card - which analyses, grades, and makes recommendations for each FAD program - click here.