Hinckley Reservoir group wants more time

Hinckley Reservoir working group members decided Tuesday to ask for a six-week extension to their March 31 deadline - meaning the governor's office wouldn't receive the report until two weeks after the start of the canal season.

Working group Chairwoman Nancy Kim of the state Department of Health said the extension into the middle of May would allow more time for finalizing details of the group's recommendations and incorporating everything into a final report.

Last fall, then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer created the working group to study the reservoir and make recommendations for avoiding another water crisis like the one that dropped the water level to within 3 feet of affecting the drinking supply of 130,000 Mohawk Valley Water Authority customers.

Poor communication among agencies was a factor, according to a special report in January by the O-D based on a review of 2,000 pages of documents and e-mails.

If the state grants the extension, the reservoir could be managed properly while new Gov. David Paterson's office reviews the final report in May, Kim said. The working group process has already improved communication among agencies, she said.

"If there is a need to talk, we will," she said. "I'm confident in that."

The working group met for what was supposed to be the last time Tuesday at the State Office Building on Genesee Street in Utica. Another meeting has been tentatively scheduled for April 21.

Governor's spokesman Michael Whyland said he can't comment on whether the deadline will be extended until a formal request with a status report is received.

The working group's draft report includes recommendations for enhanced communication among agencies managing the reservoir and for trigger points based on water elevation that would prompt inter-agency discussions.

After Tuesday's meeting, as members of the working group talked in clusters throughout the room, Herkimer County Administrator James Wallace said he believes communication will be better this year because the parties involved are already conversing more.

"Anytime you talk to each other, things can only get better," he said.

Wallace and Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente said they aren't concerned by the proposed extension and think it is the right decision.

"I would rather us get it right and have it correct than rush it and miss something," Picente said.

Remsen resident Richard Pertz, who lives on the reservoir and recently submitted files to the working group about people who use the reservoir, said he doesn't think the extension would cause problems.

Difficulties from low water levels rarely start until later in the summer, and there was enough snow this year to keep the reservoir level high at least through the early months of the canal season, Pertz said.

"It's going to be overflowing," he said. "There's no question about it."

Observer-Dispatch