Introduction
The Hudson River is an important estuary that contributes to New York’s economy, heritage, recreation, environment, and aesthetic beauty. The health of the Hudson River is vital to the livelihood of the many communities on both sides of the river. For many years, CCE and other environmental groups have sought to protect, preserve, and restore the Hudson. Haverstraw Bay is in the lower region of the Hudson River and is designated a significant coastal fish and wildlife habitat because of its significant value as a nursery for numerous fish and other aquatic species. Desalination plants should not be proposed for these ecological significant areas. Maintaining Haverstraw Bay is a crucial part in the overall process of preserving the Hudson River Estuary. Implementing aggressive water conservation measures should the first priority since these solutions are the least expensive and the most sustainable for our community over the long term.
Desalination facility in Tampa, Fl.
What is Desalination?
Desalination is a process to remove salt and minerals from salt water and to produce drinkable water. There are several different methods to desalinate water. Reverse osmosis is the most common process, used in 96% of desalination plants in the United States. During reverse osmosis, salt water is pumped along a porous cylindrical membrane at high pressure, which prevents the passage of small particles, salts, and other chemicals, but allows the desalinated water to pass through for human consumption. It takes two to three gallons of salt water to make one gallon of fresh water, depending on the saline content of the brackish Hudson River water. A higher salt concentration in the water body makes the desalination process less efficient. Desalinating water produces several types of waste products: The reverse osmosis process creates a solid byproduct, comprised of everything filtered from the clarified water. This can include high concentrations of salts, minerals, chemicals, or any other pollutants including heavy metals and PCBs. The residual solid waste is typically collected and landfilled. The liquid waste containing concentrated salt brine is returned back to the source water.
While desalinating water may be the only solution in arid and drought stricken regions, there are numerous environmental and social problems associated with this technology, including:
Intensive Energy Consumers
Desalination plants are factories that require enormous amounts of energy – mostly coal, oil, and gas. Desalination plants that were studied in California use approximately 9 times the energy of surface water treatment and 14 times the energy as ground water production. The proposed desalination facility will use between 4,427 and 6,520 kilowatt hours of electricity per million gallons of water produced (kWh/Mgal). The average New York household will use the same amount of energy in 8 to 10 months.
Increasing local energy demand intensifies dependence on fossil fuels, further congests already outdated and constrained energy grids, and emits harmful climate change and smog-producing pollution. Increased drought is associated with climate change, so the energy intensive process of desalination can potentially be contributing to the very problems it seeks to solve.
Local Habitat Destruction
The water intake stations of desalination facilities, similar to power plants kill larvae, eggs, juveniles, and adult fish in two key ways:
- Entrainment – the capture of aquatic organisms with the water through the intake valve; and
- Impingement – the fatal pinning of organisms too large to fit through the mesh screens.
Fish mortalities, due to entrainment and impingement, vary based on the quantity and speed of the water that passes through the intake valve. The amount of marine life in the area of the intake station also plays an important factor in loss of marine life. Haverstraw Bay is an important nursery area for: Stripped Bass, American Shad, White Perch, Tomcod, and Atlantic Sturgeon, Anchovy, and Blueclaw Crab
Harmful Discharges
High concentrations of salts, minerals, chemicals, or any other pollutants including heavy metals and PCBs will be returned to the Hudson River after the water has been extracted. These discharges are called brine discharges and they can impact benthic creatures that may be unable to survive in an environment altered with higher concentrations of salts and minerals.
Water Infrastructure Overload
The United Water proposal plans to send the discharges to the Joint Regional Sewage Treatment Plant (JRSTP) to deal with the excess waste. Since Rockland’s JRSTP releases more than 1000 gallons of waste per day, they are required to obtain a State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permit. United Water’s proposal would increase the daily amount of waste by some 900,000 gallons per day at full capacity. With the addition of up to 900,000 gallons per day, the JRSTP will need a new SPDES permit and upgrades to its existing infrastructure to handle the added waste. 900,000 gallons of highly salty water per day can increase that rate of corrosion and oxidization of the pipes, thus increasing the amount and cost of repairs needed for the future. United Water has offered to pay for upgrades to the JRSTP to handle the 900,000 gallons per day of brine. United Water’s contribution to pay for upgrades only covers the initial costs. United Water will not be responsible for the long-term maintenance of the sewage plant. Also, because United Water depends on the rate payer to cover overhead costs, it is not unforeseeable that United Water will raise rates to pay for the upgrades.
Rate Increases
Building, operating and maintaining desalination plants is expensive and will likely cause rate increases. Initial estimates by United Water anticipate the construction of the Rockland County desalination plant to cost $80 million, which would be paid for by increasing rates. Due to the immense amount of required energy, operational costs can potentially skyrocket due to their link to the already unpredictable energy market. Rockland’s rates have recently been raised to $4.28 per thousand gallons of water in the winter and $6.48 per thousand gallons of water for the summer months. Unanticipated problems during construction and maintenance, combined with increasing energy costs could cause Rockland’s water rates to further increase. For example, the initial cost to construct a Desalination facility in Tampa, Florida was projected to be $110 million and rose to $150 million. Currently, Tampa Bay Water has declined to run the plant at full capacity due to concerns about exorbitant rate increases. The example set by Tampa proves that problems can be prevalent and costs can easily increase to much higher than expected numbers.
The Hudson River Desalination Proposal
United Water, a subsidiary of Suez Environment, is proposing a desalination plant at Haverstraw Bay in Rockland County, NY. The proposal consists of an intake facility, an intake pumping station, a water treatment plant that will use reverse osmosis technology, piping for the water transport, and potential upgrades to the Joint Regional Sewage Treatment Plant (JRSTP) to be built along the Hudson River.
As a result of United Water’s rate case of 2006, a Joint Proposal was reached between United Water and the New York State Public Service Commission in December, 2006. This granted United Water permission to raise Rockland’s water rates. United Water, in turn, would supply more water to the County.
Rockland County’s current water supply consists of a mix of surface reservoirs and wells. Rockland’s largest reservoir, Lake DeForest, empties into the Hackensack River and flows to New Jersey. United Water has a mandate to release 9.75 million gallons per day into the Hackensack River, to replenish New Jersey’s reservoir. Ensuring that United Water does not release more that this is vital to maintain a dedicated amount of water in Rockland County. Between June 1, 2007 and September 22, 2007, United Water violated their mandate by emptying 231 million gallons of water into the river, causing the DEC to fine them $10,000 for exceeding the permit limit.
As the primary water provider for Rockland County, Untied Water has a responsibility to manage the water supply for all of Rockland’s residents. Properly managing a water supply should include promoting meaningful conservation measures, which will ensure a dedicated and healthy supply for many years into the future. Rockland’s solution is to support green infrastructure to reduce its “water footprint;” not large scale water industrial plants.
United Water and Rockland County can do more to advance water conservation and sustainability measures. Stronger measures, such as encouraging the use of water efficient appliances and fixtures, and using better land use practices like building rain gardens to recharge groundwater supplies, must be implemented before costly and potentially harmful desalination plants are considered. Proposing a costly, energy intensive, and environmentally damaging desalination plant, United Water proves that it is not properly managing Rockland’s water supply.
Environmental Review Process
United Water first proposed the idea for a desalination plant in January of 2007. The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) was designated lead agency for the review to assess the potential adverse impacts to the people, the Hudson, and the environment. On May 7, 2009, the DEC hosted two public hearings to hear from the public on the ‘scope’ of the environmental review of the proposed desalination facility. Comments on developing the scope of the document ended May 22, 2009. CCE anticipates the release of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement in the summer of 2010.
Victory! The towns of Ramapo and Stony Point and the village of Upper Nyack stand up for the Hudson and pass resolutions against United Water’s desalination proposal!
Town of Stony Point’s Resolution
Village of Upper Nyack’s Resolution
Support Cost Effective, Environmentally Friendly Infrastructure
The solution to Rockland County’s water question is not a large scale water industrial plant. The solution that is cheaper, safer, and healthier is employing green infrastructure and a real water conservation policy. Instead of being home to the first desalination facility in New York State, Rockland can set a precedent of conservation and be the first county in New York to say NO to a desalination proposal.
Until the DEIS is released, CCE urges our Rockland County members to advocate for enhanced local water conservation programs.
Write to your town board, town supervisor, County Executive, State Assembly members, and State Senator and tell them:
- You oppose any rate increases associated with an unnecessary desalination plant.
- You support water conservation and sustainable local land use planning and do not support expensive and energy-intensive desalination plants.
- To promote groundwater recharge and reduce polluted run-off by using green infrastructure solutions, which include permeable paved surfaces and rain barrels.
- To update codes to require more efficient water use for new and retrofitted buildings.
- Ask for a reply in writing as to how they will address your concerns.
- Remember to include your name, address, and email address at the bottom of your letter.
Contact:
Town of Clarkstown |
Town of Haverstraw |
Town of Orangetown |
Town of Ramapo |
Town of Stony Point |
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Hon. Alex J. Gromack |
Hon. Howard T. Phillips, Jr. |
Hon. Paul Whalen |
Hon. Christopher P. St. Lawrence |
Hon. William E. Sherwood |
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Hon. Shirley Lasker |
Hon. Isidro Cancel |
Hon. Nancy Low Hogan |
Hon. Yitzchok Ullman |
Hon. Lou Vicari |
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Hon. George Hoehmann |
Hon. Vincent J. Gamboli |
Michael Maturo |
Hon. Frances M. Hunter |
Hon. Jim White |
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Hon. Stephanie Hausner |
Hon. John J. Gould |
Hon. Thomas Deviny |
Hon. Patrick Withers |
Hon. Geoffrey Finn |
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Hon. Frank Borelli |
Hon. Hector L. Soto |
Hon. Denis Troy |
Vacant |
Hon. Luanne Konopko Councilwoman |
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Scott Vanderhoef |
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Tom Morahan |
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Additional Information:
CCE’s Scoping Comments on United Water’s Proposed Desalination Plant for the Hudson River
CCE works with the Rockland Coalition for Sustainable Water, a coalition of citizens and environmental organizations taking a critical look at the impacts ofthe proposal and to advocate sustainable water management policies, such as conservation.
All scoping comments submitted by the members of the Rockland Coalition for Sustainable Water (12.6MB)
Final Scoping Document for the Haverstraw Desalination Plant
Special Feature: Water Conservation
updated by mwallach 5/21/10