HYDROLOGY OF NEW YORK 



G95 



On the west side of the Hudson river there are: 



2) Wallkill river, which is also an interstate stream. 

 • 3) The -catchment of the Catskill mountains, including 

 Esopus, Catskill, Schoharie and Rondout creeks. 



4) Hudson river itself, either at a point near Poughkeepsie 

 or by an aqueduct from the upper catchment area. 



The Housatonic river, Ten Mile river and Wallkill river catch- 

 ment areas are, however, eliminated from consideration by reason 

 of certain legal difficulties due to the first two streams being 

 partly in New York and partly in Connecticut and the Wallkill 

 being partly in Xew York and partly in New Jersey. There 

 seems to be no doubt that a lower riparian owner in either Con- 

 necticut or Xew Jersey could by an injunction prevent the use 

 of either of these catchment areas to supply the City of Xew Y r ork, 

 and even though Connecticut and New Jersey should, by their 

 legislatures, grant either to the City of New York or to a corpora- 

 tion acting under its authority the right of condemnation, such 

 acts would be unconstitutional. Moreover, it is doubtful in the 

 case of Xew Jersey whether that State would even attempt to 

 assist the City of Xew York, because recent legislation in New 

 Jersey has indicated a policy to preserve for its own citizens the 

 waters coming from the catchments in the northern part of the 

 State. 



It is also considered that legal complications would arise even 

 if a private corporation should attempt to furnish water from 

 Xew Jersey. As regards the use of the Wallkill river as a water 

 supply for the City of Xew York, such use involves the building 

 of a reservoir, the surface of which would be 422 feet above sea 

 level. The Wallkill river, at the location of the proposed reser- 

 voir, is about 380 feet above tidewater. The dam would flood an 

 area of GO square miles, of which one-fifth is in Xew Jersey. If 

 Xew York can purchase the lands in Xew Jersey, it can of course 

 Hood them for the purpose of a reservoir intended to supply Xew 

 York, but there is no way by which New Y r ork city can acquire 

 title to these lands by condemnation. Subject, therefore, to this 

 difficulty of purchase, there is no objection to the Wallkill river 

 as a supply for New York. 1 



1 Abstracted from Report of Committee on Legislation, in Report of 

 Merchants' Association of New York. 



