Half Full? Water Futures In the Western Catskills

The initial idea seemed simple enough. The Project Team would research water, specifically focusing on the watersheds in the Upper Delaware and Western Catskills. Why water, and why here? Historically, water has been a critical economic generator for both local and regional development. Locally, for example, the extensive network of waterways gave rise to projects such as the Delaware & Hudson Canal, which served as an unprecedented economic boon to Sullivan County when it was built in 1828. Regionally, the area’s water has provided New York City with drinking water for nearly a century, through what is still the country’s largest unfiltered public water supply system. More recently, the sustainability and future of this water has been the subject of intense controversy following the debates surrounding the potential impacts of natural gas drilling in the watershed.