WATER RESOURCEFULNESS

[Music] so [Music] foreign [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] mother nature could have provided her children no fairer home than the wilderness world man would someday call new york she lavished a wealth of water on a fertile land and together water land and the creatures that people both formed a natural empire of incredible contrasts [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] every element was there the rugged mountains deep valleys swift flowing streams slack bays bogs marshes swamps and falls of water everything that nature could devise in her unique creativity [Music] each of these ecological situations comprised an element of the total environment each was created in a natural way a balance of conflicting forces and within the normal order of things was change gradual evolution such as erosion and sedimentation [Music] but man's arrival was dramatic and destructive his startling activities revolutionized nature's process he could harvest age-old forests he could fill coastal wetlands a flowing river could be damned into a lake the earth became man's environment and he controlled it tailored it to his wishes it was most practical in the immediate sense but consider these long-range consequences a big city with a dry reservoir a river full of man's own wastes [Music] a sick lake a chasm cut where land had lain man's compulsive urge to build and develop can create chaos in nature's world but it is obvious that a carefully planned well-balanced program of development can make the most of natural resources and yet be consistent with the environment and so new york state has embarked on an ambitious water resources program its object to devise a constructive and yet compatible program of water [Music] resourcefulness new york state has a wealth of water it flows in all directions the allegheny flows southwest to the ohio and the mississippi the susquehanna flows south to the chesapeake bay the delaware flows south to the delaware bay the hudson flows to new york harbor and then the atlantic other streams flow north and west into lake erie lake ontario and the st lawrence river new york's accelerated water resources program undertaken at governor rockefeller's direction has divided river basins into four naturally related groups or regions for intensive study planning and action along the eastern edge the historic valleys of the mohawk and the hudson rivers and long island form a single region for study the adjacent eastern region covers the lake champlain the saint lawrence and the black river basins in the north and the delaware basin to the south the central region includes the oswego valley and the susquehanna basin the western region contains the genesee the erie niagara basin and the allegheny the man-made barge canal system cuts across all these regions and joins their natural waterways together hundreds of miles of coastal salt water and great lake shoreline three and a half million acres of lakes and seventy 000 miles of streams indeed a wealth of water water resourcefulness extends to the outer wetlands the shallow bays and tidal marshes of long island which provide homes and food for shore birds waterfowl and other game and make long island the northeast's most important station on the atlantic migratory waterfowl flyway wetlands are also essential to long island's multi-million dollar sport and commercial fishing industries accumulating and releasing the nutrients that begin the vital food chain for fin and shellfish [Music] wetlands are labeled wastelands by some but in fact these water resources are priceless economically and aesthetically and where possible towns and counties with state assistance are preserving them from destructive encroachment when wetlands are filled for home and industrial sites agriculture or other purposes new york may lose an irreplaceable part of her water resources forever [Music] a short distance but a far cry from those long island wetlands new york harbor [Music] the port of new york international crossroads and gateway to america handles a third of the nation's total foreign trade [Music] 460 miles of piers docks and intensively developed shoreline fronting on one of the world's biggest and best protected harbors covering seven bays four estuaries parts of four rivers and several creeks an exceptional water resource that has spawned the world's greatest urban complex here public access to the shoreline for enjoyment is increasingly important as obsolete facilities are reclaimed and new ones planned central coordination of many separate projects offers the opportunity to serve both utilitarian and recreational needs along the waterfront [Music] [Applause] in the lower bay area of the harbor sand and gravel are being dredged for construction use this can destroy clam banks and fishing areas but their value had already been impaired by gross pollution of the water re-establishment depends on the improvement of water quality one goal of harbor cleanup but only one facet of the many water resources activities involving the world's greatest harbor surrounded by the world's greatest city [Music] after the flood the mud this is the damage just a small stream can cause when its floodplain is urbanized and flood control planning is inadequate a sudden storm swelled the stream and a culvert clogged with debris damming its restricted channel the floodplain of even a small stream is best reserved for open use the more intensive the development the greater the risk of damage and the greater the urgency for careful management of the watersheds resources maintaining an adequate channel and floodplain improving land treatment practices and developing impoundments upstream can provide a coordinated management program to minimize the danger and the damage [Music] a steadily eroding stream bank has brought this home to the edge of disaster but erosion control and channel stabilization are just two ingredients of good watershed management here a dam is being built on issua creek a tributary of the allegheny draining a small rural valley around franklinville in catarogus county this is part of a comprehensive plan for watershed protection and flood prevention teaming local organizations the new york state conservation department and the soil conservation service of the u.s department of agriculture here a completed impoundment designed for flood prevention erosion control and public recreation on a smaller scale farm ponds have been built and a marsh preserved for development of waterfowl and other wetlands wildlife a major river basin is the sum of many small watersheds streams and the land that spawns them comprehensive basin planning molds all into a unified plan to best serve many needs of man tow ropes burned scars into the masonry locks of the old erie canal in the 19th century clinton's ditch opened in 1825 it exerted a compelling influence on the growth of new york state and the nation [Music] along the present improved barge canal system and the natural waterways it links major population centers are monuments to the vision of the men who built this mechanical river intended originally for commercial transport the system today carries far more pleasure craft than freight barges and how it will serve new york in the future calls for new resourcefulness this is a multi-purpose system involving lakes and streams as well as the canal itself and long-range plans for its development are being carefully fashioned yesterday's factories along the barge canal are being complemented by new processing plants water-oriented recreation is another great potential of the barge canal system a unique combination of water resources promising important benefits to all of tomorrow's users [Music] lakes are natural playgrounds and the activities here at cayuga lake state park typify facilities one finds at the other finger lakes lake george lake placid lake champlain the great lakes and thousands of others lake management merits close attention and often present special problems a case in point is lake chautauqua where excessive growth of aquatic plants interferes with recreational use rooted weeds grow profusely because of over fertilization one practical method of control at present is the continuous process of cutting and removal [Music] lake management also involves the regulation of lake levels control of erosion and sedimentation flood control water quality management and the protection of fish and wildlife these are major considerations in the accelerated reconnaissance of new york's lake resources and the first step toward their long-range multi-purpose development the lower hudson is one of new york's most beautiful waterways and one of its most polluted the river is a tidal arm of the atlantic as far north as troy this intensifies the hudson's pollution problems which consist of raw waste discharges from more than 30 communities inadequately treated wastes from a larger number and pollution from industrial installations to meet this massive challenge to provide clean waters not only in the hudson but in all of the state's waters governor rockefeller in 1965 proposed a billion dollar bond issue to finance a comprehensive pure waters program imaginative project was designed to provide state assistance to communities to allow them to wipe out accumulated sources of pollution the voters gave overwhelming approval by a four to one vote they are willing to pay for clean streams the hudson mohawk basin has been made a separate priority area for evaluation in the state's water resources program [Music] new york city guards its precious water supply in many resourceful ways trained men with sensitive instruments far from playing games listen for telltale noises that pinpoint leaks in the underground distribution system a wasteful leak can rob a city's water supply as surely as a periodic drought can empty its reservoirs water conservation measures such as this save 200 million gallons a day in new york city during a recent drought meanwhile city and state officials negotiated emergency water management measures which increased the available supply [Music] needs are already pressing and children take their fun where they can find it they don't stop to think that too many open hydrants can drop water pressure dangerously low a hazardous condition should fire break out [Music] in one week 7 700 hydrants were illegally opened and so the city can't be blamed for closing them and putting harnesses on them a new spray device lets the kids get wet and cool while conserving water [Music] reservoir just within the southern boundary of the adirondack forest preserve is new york's largest artificial lake built nearly 40 years ago it was a pioneer in multi-purpose development intended to provide flood control and river regulation in the upper hudson watershed [Music] today its waters and 300 miles of shoreline are serving increasingly as a public playground for water sports fishing and other recreational activities it still stores water when the tributary sachandaga river is swollen it still releases water to the upper hudson during dry periods when natural flow is low and it also generates hydroelectric power sacondaga demonstrates the way in which multi-purpose use of a reservoir and its related land areas can evolve over a period of time but instead of evolution new york state's water needs now call for orderly revolution the present accelerated studies of statewide water resources may lead to the construction of more impoundments similar to sacondaga but planned from the beginning for a variety of uses stream regulation flood control water quality management water supply irrigation recreation and in an overall sense economic development of new york state today new york state has a unified water resources program and leadership is provided by the new york state water resources commission created in 1962 at governor rockefeller's recommendation the commissioner of conservation is chairman of an 11-man body which is made up of the commissioners of the office for local government of agriculture and markets of commerce and of health the superintendent of public works the office of attorney general and four advisory members at large representing agriculture industry political subdivisions and sportsmen this is the central authority which the governor instructed to develop the accelerated water resources program and which is providing policy direction for all water resources activities on a local level a regional water resources board includes a farmer an industrialist a water supply official a conservationist a public administrator here at the town hall in elmer new york the members of the erie niagara basin board hold a public meeting part of the orderly process of selecting the best plan for the development of the water resources of the erie niagara basin planning the development of new york's water resources is a responsibility to be shared by all levels of government federal state and local the regional board bears the responsibility for initiating studies and devising the master plan for optimum multi-purpose development of water resources this local responsibility applied to small watersheds as well as large basins following natural boundaries and cutting across county lines is one of the cornerstones of new york's water resources program [Music] [Applause] [Music] conservation has many moods the beauty of unmolested nature the solicitude which can help man and his creatures cohabit the earth [Music] the discrimination to recognize the harm of pollution [Music] the resolution to provide correction when man has unbalanced his environment the foresight to appreciate future requirements the capability to face a major resource crisis the vision to provide opportunity for industrial development through water resources management but most important of all is the initiative to build works to prevent destructive excesses such as flood and drought and the imagination to devise an overall plan which will fit man into his environment instead of displacing it this is the purpose of new york state's complete water resources program and the essence of water resourcefulness [Music] you