Editorial report: The DRBC can help you understand floods and drought

How we manage our water supply is a serious concern for the whole watershed. (I’m looking at you Philly — and Trenton — and Wilmington — and on and on.) 

The various water utilities up and down the watershed in those cities and elsewhere already know that and are paying close attention. 

But us, who need that water to drink? Maybe less so.

We are concerned, naturally enough, with our water quality but in the era of climate change, water quantity is going to be front and center. It’s easy to overlook the possibility of problems since all you need to do in the water-rich northeastern U.S. is turn on the tap.

But it’s time we started NOT taking that blessing for granted. 

The climate change forecast for us is more water when it rains, less water when it doesn’t — a scenario of tick-tocking from one extreme to the other. In other words, threats of flooding and threats of droughts.

And, through no one’s fault, our whole water system is built on the way water worked 50 years ago. 

For example, we used to be able to count on snow melt to give us a gradual supply of water through the early spring. Now, there’s very little snow above the reservoirs in the upper river and rains can run away in an instant.

In addition, those rains can produce flash flooding, which cause heart-breaking property damage, and worse, can be life-threatening.

So how do we un-learn the habits formed by generations of stable water supply?

Together.

And how do we do that? By becoming informed before there’s a problem and considering possible solutions.

I’ll grant you, it’s a lot more satisfying to rant and rave when there’s a problem (see our current state of affairs about, well, everything) but the best way forward is to listen to each other and find common ground.

And especially to listen to the scientists and engineers — in the private as well as the public sector — who work to make our water clean and available.

It’s not always perfect, but few things are.

One of the most easily accessible sources of accurate, scientific, fact-based information are the various advisory committees of the Delaware River Basin Commission. (The DRBC is responsible for water quality and quantity in the main stem.)

Here’s what the DRBC says about these committees:

The DRBC’s advisory committees provide a forum to exchange information and viewpoints on a variety of issues, enhancing communication and coordination. Advisory committee and subcommittee meetings are open to the public. 

I have found the advisory committees to offer a wealth of knowledge about the river and I’d like to point out that these meetings are — as noted above — open to the public,

That’s a level of transparency that’s all too rare these days. And yes, some of the meetings are less than exciting. 

So? The last thing I want is an “exciting” meeting, which often means bad news and arguments. Business as usual is good, with positive changes developing over time. 

You can argue that some changes might need to be put in place more quickly, but, as the Environmental Protection Administration’s chief Michael Regan said recently in Philly, “Science is slow.” 

The advisory committees aren’t political, though the commissioners are because they are the governors of the four states. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is also a member as a representative of the federal government but isn’t political.

And take a look at the wide range of representatives that are invited to be part of the committees. Here’s a link to the committee members for the Water Management Advisory Committee – quite a brain trust.

I’m focusing on its recent meeting because that’s the committee focused on water supply planning.  

The scientists and engineers at DRBC develop information that can be used to plan ahead. The members of the advisory committee review that information, suggest changes, even sometimes argue and from all of that, offer suggestions that the commissioners may act on.

Not very sexy, but a vital process that is ongoing.

Among other things discussed at the WMAC meeting was planning for the Delaware Aqueduct shutdown, a massive project that’s created countless headaches for the New York Department of Environmental Protection as well as anxiety among the residents of the upper river. See more here.

And there’s a new Subcommittee on Sourcewater Protection, focused on inter-agency communication and to provide a regular forum for the federal and state agencies that would be involved, for example, when there’s a threat to the drinking water supply as there was in March 2023 when an estimated 8,000 gallons of a water-based latex finishing solution from the Trinseo Altuglas chemical facility in Bristol, Bucks County, leaked into the river. 

The incident, which occurred upstream of the city’s Baxter Drinking Water Treatment Plant, did not affect drinking water.

The threats to the river are many, and our responses when our drinking water is threatened have to be quick.

This subcommittee will make that — with any luck — easier. And if not, there’s a built-in “sell-by” date in the resolution that created it. It can expire on three years. It’s a good idea to see if this forum can indeed lead to better communication.

And another thing: Ever since Covid, the DRBC has been hosting its open-to-the-public meetings on Zoom.

When I started Delaware Currents (nearly nine years ago) it was before the days of Zoom and I would trot two-plus hours down to Trenton to sit in on these “lessons” on the watershed.

Now, praise be, I can listen and watch from the comfort of my desk. You can too!

The next Water Management Advisory Committee meeting is at 10 a.m. on Oct. 16. There are lots of other advisory committees — here’s the list of upcoming meetings.

If you want to understand the vibrant and, yes, sometimes volatile, system that brings 14+ million people their drinking water, listening in to a few of these could pay handsome dividends.

And when you can’t, there’s always coverage from Delaware Currents!!