Re "Rockland flooding might be worst since 1999," June 24 article:

After all the flooding and the "State of Emergency" issued by the Rockland County Executive's office on June 23, we must ask ourselves the question: Does Rockland County actually have a water shortage? It's a vital question as United Water, which supplies water to a majority of Rockland residents, moves forward on plans to tap the Hudson River to supply water to the county.

Just days before the storm that flooded many homes and businesses in Rockland, about 50 county planning officials and residents met in Haverstraw Town Hall to hear Paul Heisig, hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, present the findings of the Rockland County Water Resource Assessment, a five-year scientific study that was funded by the County of Rockland, the state Department of Conservation and United Water.

The study showed that while Rockland currently has adequate water supply to meet demand, it could experience occasional difficulty meeting peak demand in summer months when outdoor lawn watering becomes a significant factor. The report also indicates that Rockland can improve water conservation and management of its water resources instead of allowing 14 billion gallons of water back into the Hudson River each year. A more sustainable plan would redirect that water to recharge aquifers, streams and river basins, keeping Rockland's water in Rockland.

Cut waste
Our current water management policies are not working. After a heavy rainstorm, stormwater is channeled directly into storm drains and streams that become quickly overburdened. This turns our streams into drainage ditches, causing mass erosion and flooding, property damage for homeowners, businesses and municipalities, loss of natural habitat — and a tremendous lost water resource each year. The USGS report considers this lost water a "wasted resource."

Desalination of Hudson River water, as the water treatment plant planned by United Water would do, is not the answer.

In 2006, the state Public Service Commission, at the urging of the Rockland County Health Department and local builders, determined that Rockland must expand its drinking water supply to meet future demands for growth. At the time, these agencies believed that Rockland's water resources were on a spiraling downward trend. However, based on information provided by Heisig and the USGS study, this assumption appears to be wrong.

In light of the USGS report, the Citizen's Campaign for the Environment, a member organization of the Rockland Coalition for Sustainable Water, has collected more than 8,000 signatures from Rockland residents, urging the Rockland County Legislature to oppose United Water's construction of a desalination plant on the Hudson River in favor of more sustainable water management practices. To its credit, the Rockland County Legislature responded with a Water Conservation & Management Policy goal in the new Rockland County Comprehensive Plan. While this is an important first step, local laws with specific policies for water conservation and smarter building practices must follow.

The fact is that the United Water plan to expand our water supply with desalination of Hudson River water is an unnecessary, expensive and wasteful use of energy and water resources when viable alternatives exist. Desalination plants have a history of cost overruns and a vote in favor of the desalination plant will continue the knee-jerk reaction for more and more development without considering the eventual costs that will be passed along to all Rockland taxpayers for water, roads, schools and municipal services. The desalination plant will not produce the expected tax benefits promised for the Town of Haverstraw and the North Rockland School District since it will offset these benefits by passing along higher construction, operation and energy costs in future rate hikes for all its customers.

Sustainable growth
Our Rockland Legislature must act on new data from the 2010 USGS study and towns and villages need to do their part to adopt more sustainable land use planning and building practices for new construction as communities across the country have done. New York City reduced its water consumption by 30 percent when low-flush toilets replaced older models. Gray water reuse, rainwater capture and use of more permeable surfaces reduce runoff and allow water to return to the aquifer, which could also help reduce existing and future flooding problems. In addition, let's hold United Water accountable for the actual amounts of water being transferred from Lake DeForest to New Jersey each year — a shell game that raises questions about who is ultimately benefiting from building a desalination plant in Rockland County.

Water is a shared, precious resource and it is time for us to recognize our collective responsibility to protect it. However, without leadership from the county and improved land use planning at the town and village level, Rockland is destined to lose its quality of life and accept the eventual environmental and economic burden of unsustainable overdevelopment.

By George Potanovic Jr.
The writer is a Stony Point resident, president of the Stony Point Action Committee Environment (SPACE) and member of the Rockland Coalition for Sustainable Water.

Rockland Coalition for Sustainable Water is composed of groups concerned with the current status of Rockland County's water supply, watershed health, rivers, streams and aquifer. The mission of the coalition is to speak out to protect Rockland's natural water resources. Visit www.SustainableRockland.org (Preserve Ramapo is an original member of the Rockland Coalition for Sustainable Water.)