rss feedGlobal Warming May Ruin NY's Super Delicious Tap Water: Report
Posted by Michael Clancy at 2:26 PM, July 8, 2008
The Ashokan Reservoir in Ulster County
Photo by David Goehring
Global warming has already had an effect on New York City's drinking water, and shifting weather patterns and stronger storms—like the ones we're experiencing this summer—should only serve to make things worse, Bloomberg News reports citing an NYC DEP report:
New York City's tap water, so pure residents swear it tastes better than bottled, may become a casualty of climate change as warmer temperatures threaten to spoil the mountain reservoirs supplying 9 million people.
Water from the largest unfiltered delivery system in the U.S. may become dirtier as weather patterns shift, bringing stronger storms to the region, the city's Department of Environmental Protection said in a May report. Heavy rains muddy reservoirs and wash in bacteria and parasites. That may force New York to spend $10 billion on filtration, the DEP said.
"Intense storms affect the quality of our water,'' said DEP Commissioner Emily Lloyd in an interview last week. "Our system is already experiencing very real effects of climate change.''
Not only is this a threat to New York City's delish tap water, but get set for even higher water rates down the road. This news comes in on the heels of a 14.5 percent increase that went into effect on July 1.
