Skip to main content

Currently Skimming:

Summary
Pages 1-12

The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.


From page 1...
... In 2007, NYC DEP was required by the New York State Department of Health to further examine its control of turbidity in the Catskill portion of the water supply, including both structural improvements to the system and operational changes. The Operations Support Tool (OST)
From page 2...
... Chapter 4 considers the City's plan to use OST as it develops an environmental impact statement for modifications to the Catalum SPDES permit. Chapter 5 discusses how future climate change in the New York region will affect the ongoing use of OST in water supply operations.
From page 3...
... Therefore, it is done by utilizing water quantity and water quality models that provide probabilistic simulation of flows, reservoir levels, and water quality under a range of possible future conditions for a future time period, which could be weeks, months, or years. Figure S-1 summarizes the conceptual framework of OST.
From page 4...
... . NWS = National Weather Service; USGS = U.S.
From page 5...
... NYC DEP and the National Weather Service, which operates the weather and hydrologic forecasting model components of the system, need to critically evaluate the appropriateness of each of the key components of the ensemble streamflow forecasts. The hydrologic model used by the Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center, Continuous Antecedent Precipitation Index (API)
From page 6...
... The biggest risk to OST failing to fulfill its role as a water management decision support tool is a lack of continuous improvement, knowledge transfer, and knowledge mobilization through succession planning to ensure that the best and most appropriate data and operational insights are used to inform the inputs, the models, and the other relationships that OST relies upon. METRICS FOR THE CATSKILL TURBIDITY CONTROL PROGRAM The Committee was asked to evaluate the performance measures the City uses to assess the efficacy of the Catskill Turbidity Control Program and to make recommendations for additional performance measures.
From page 7...
... NYC DEP needs to take the next step of analyzing the data to improve understanding of the dynamics of the system, which may be helpful in improving existing control strategies, optimizing the data collection systems (learning which sensors provide the most important information) , and demonstrating the effectiveness of the Catskill Turbidity Control Program.
From page 8...
... or under different assumptions simulated in the sensitivity runs. USE OF OST IN A CHANGING CLIMATE Future climate conditions are likely to affect water supply operations for New York City.
From page 9...
... As OST is used in simulation mode in future climate change studies, it will be important to consider a range of approaches as inputs to OST, including climate and hydrologic models, historical climate analogs, and current conditions and trends. Together, climate modeling and observational approaches provide effective and complementary inputs to near- and long-term water supply planning for the region.
From page 10...
... Use of OST to Capture Existing Staff Knowledge and Expertise and as a Training Tool When used in position analysis mode, OST draws on the expertise of its engineers and operators regarding how the water supply system should operate. This expert knowledge is captured both within OST's model code and through the use of specific operations control language (OCL)
From page 11...
... OST could simulate water quality impacts of existing and new program elements under a range of assumptions regarding systems operations, future land use, and other changes within the watershed. Use of OST to Help Illuminate and Frame Research Questions OST serves as a repository of current understanding of the dynamics within the water supply system, but can also serve to highlight research questions that could improve its usefulness to NYC DEP.
From page 12...
... As NYC DEP's use of OST continues to mature and result in additional insights to a wider range of operational and regulatory questions, the need for transparency and clarity about what OST is and what OST does will only grow. As important as developing clear explanations of what OST does and how it is used are developing equally clear explanations of what OST does not do and the uses for which OST is not well suited, such as modeling water quality and ecological impacts outside the bounds of the calibrated model.


This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More information on Chapter Skim is available.