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This Memorial Day, bike the Catskills

By Andrea Girolamo
5/18/12 - 6:26 pm

Above: Cycling on some Catskills roads. Photo via the Catskill Mountain Cycling Club Facebook page.

Cyclists who ride the Catskills know this is a perfect place to get on the bike for a quick 20-miler. And what better time to do it than this Memorial Day weekend, when two of our local cycling clubs are offering planned rides for cycling enthusiasts?

'Tour de Pepacton'

Billy Allison, of the Catskill Mountain Cycling Club, is the organizing brains behind this year’s Tour de Pepacton, a ride to benefit Catskill Area Hospice & Palliative Care, on Sunday, May 27. Read more

DEP finds source of Pepacton oil spill

By Lissa Harris
5/18/12 - 4:43 pm

Photo of the Pepacton Reservoir, taken near the East Delaware Tunnel on Tuesday, May 15. The photo shows yellow rubber booms surrounding the area of a small oil spill.

The source of a mysterious oil spill discovered on New York City's Pepacton Reservoir on April 29 has finally been found, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced on Friday. The source is still buried in the sediment, and has been covered to prevent further leakage while the agency investigates.

Earlier this week, divers were deployed on the reservoir to search the bottom for the source of the spill. A press release issued by the DEP today stated that the divers found a four-inch pipe protruding from the bottom of the reservoir, leaking a substance believed to be diesel fuel. The pipe is capped, but has several small holes that are leaking fuel. A second point on the bottom of the reservoir, about 12 inches away from the pipe, is also showing signs of leakage. Read more

DEP still looking for source of Pepacton oil spill

By Lissa Harris
5/16/12 - 12:05 pm

Photo of a small tugboat and an oil spill surrounded by yellow booms on the Pepacton Reservoir. Taken on Tuesday, May 15 from Route 30, near the pump station for the East Delaware Tunnel. Photos by Lissa Harris.

The source of a small oil spill in New York City's Pepacton Reservoir, which was discovered on April 29, had still not been found over two weeks later.

From a photo taken of the spill yesterday, the affected area looks somewhat larger than the New York City Department of Environmental Protection's initial estimate of about 100 square feet.

DEP spokesman Chris Gilbride told the Watershed Post that divers were in the reservoir on Tuesday, May 15 searching for the source of the spill.

Gilbride said that no water was currently being drawn from the Pepacton into the city's drinking water.

"We're not currently drawing water from that reservoir, not because of the oil spill, just because of natural operations," he said. Read more

School elections today

By Lissa Harris
5/15/12 - 9:57 am

A reminder: New Yorkers go to the polls today to vote for school budgets and board members. To find your local polling place, check your school district's website.

Problems at the polls? Let us know at editor@watershedpost.com.

Thousands of rural post offices to reduce hours under new USPS plan

By Lissa Harris
5/10/12 - 11:33 am

Above: A Google map of New York State post offices that will have reduced hours under the new plan. Click on a red dot to get information about a post office's current hours and their planned reduced daily hours. Use the controls on the left to zoom in or out, or click and drag the map with your mouse. For a larger view, click here. Data from the United States Postal Service. Read more

From the Publisher: Memorial Day. It's coming.

By Julia Reischel
5/7/12 - 4:23 pm

In the Catskills this year, Memorial Day is going to be epic.

For the first time in history, four of the six west-of-Hudson New York City reservoirs will be open to boating and paddling for the masses. A new bike event will bring the spirit of the Tour de France to the Pepacton. There will be festivals, parades, street fairs, and general partying all over the region.

And we're going to keep track of it all in our soon-to-be-published Catskills Memorial Day Guide.

Advertise in the Memorial Day guide by May 15. To advertise, check out our rate sheet and get in touch with me at sales@watershedpost.com or at 845-481-0155.

To get your event listed in the guide for free, click here to enter your event into our calendar system. (You need to register for an account with us first.)

Our goal is to list every single parade, barbecue, and get-together in the Catskills. Help us make it happen.

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