Though it’s surrounded by the Hudson, New York City doesn’t rely on the river for its freshwater supply. Rather, decades ago, an aqueduct system was built to bring water to Manhattan from upstate—largely drawing on reservoirs in the Catskill region. This is one reason why we see so much concern about natural gas extraction by fracking in the watersheds that feed Catskill reservoirs.
Now, a new paper published in the journal Climatic Change evaluates another aspect of New York City’s water supply: is it vulnerable to climate change? The researchers found that higher winter temperatures and rainfall are already causing snow to melt earlier in the spring. In the forested watershed of the Catskills, this is leading to more runoff in the winter and lower runoff in the spring and summer months. The overall effect is that runoff is more evenly distributed throughout the year.
This is good news for the inhabitants of New York City, as its water supply in reservoirs is likely to be more reliable throughout the year. Apparently, the engineers who designed the city’s water supply had the long-view in mind.
We must do everything possible to protect the watersheds that supply New York City’s water. And, the age of the aqueducts and dams will undoubtedly call for expensive maintenance. But, at least changes in the overall supply of water to New York are not high on the growing list of impacts of global climate change.
Photo, taken on August 8, 2010, courtesy of Kyle McCluer (www.kylemccluer.com) via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Support for Earth Wise comes from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY, with partial support from the Field Day Foundation.