Power and Water Supply Development in New York and New Jersey

Abstract

The planning and operation of power and water supplies have been intertwined with growth and stability in the New York-New Jersey region for the last 125 years. In 1999 American National Power, a utility company, proposed to site an 1100-megawatt electric generating station in Rockland County in New York State on a tributary of the Ramapo River that flows into New Jersey. From 100,000 to 600,000 gallons per day would be drawn from the Ramapo River watershed to make up for water used in the process. The power generated would have flowed into the electric grid that served the region. The State of New Jersey opposed the application to protect the downstream water supply infrastructure that serves up to 3,000,000 people in northeast New Jersey. From August 2001 to May 2002 a drought struck the region. Rockland County filed to dismiss the application to protect a threatened and endangered species, timber rattlesnake, and water resources limits. In November 2002, the application was withdrawn. Comparison of this process with an engineering and economic analysis performed by the New Jersey Geological Survey in 1894 indicates how technology has transformed the region within the limits of State jurisdiction and water resources. In conclusion, planning and management of water and power supplies for this region would benefit from a bi-state agreement with common criteria, simulation models and process if the impacts of water and power plants are to be equitably assessed for the future.