Muddying of beloved creek last straw for city reservoir neighbors

Tony Cenicola/The New York Times - The Ashokan Reservoir in Ulster County is kept clear by emptying its muddy water into Lower Esopus Creek. Local residents fear it may never run clear again.

For years, the resentment simmered as residents of Ulster County endured development bans, flooded basements and ruined crops, all for the sake of protecting New York City’s water supply. But the last straw in a string of grievances was the browning of a cherished tributary that is vital to recreation and agriculture in this corner of the Catskills. Discontent has given way to full-throttle fury against the city, which has always called the shots on reservoir management in the region.


The browning of a cherished tributary link is to a document issued by the Ulster County Executive Hein that includes an announcement of Ulster's filing of a lawsuit against NYC's DEP for polluting the Lower Esopus.


The tipping point was a two-year-old decision by New York City environmental officials — with state support — to allow frequent releases of muddy water from one of the city’s major upstate reservoirs, the Ashokan, into the waterway, the 34-mile-long Lower Esopus Creek. The purpose of the discharges is to rid the reservoir of clay particles and other materials stirred up by rainfall, ensuring that the water supply for nine million people downstate remains pristine.

Declaring Pine Hill ‘historic’

The Italianate facade of the Colonial Inn, one of the few hotels still in operation in Pine Hill.

 The sleepy hamlet of Pine Hill, at the western end of Shandaken, is poised to capitalize on its past as a significant tourist destination by obtaining legal designation as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places. Residents and businesspeople hope that signage and official listings — appearing on maps, Smartphone apps, brochures, and GPS units — will revive the hamlet by once again attracting tourists to view its many homes, hotels, library, former school building, churches, and stone bridges that were built between 1880 and 1925.

Winter in Chichester