Ben's New Business Plan

Mr. Schwall, surrounded by spokesmodels, vehemently defends his proposal to drain Catskill springs for his new bottled water brand.

Water harvesting plan in Sullivan County faces opposition

By Adam Bosch

Times Herald-Record

July 17, 2008 6:00 AM

LIVINGSTON MANOR — A proposal to harvest bottled drinking water from a spring near the Willowemoc Creek has drawn the ire of businessmen and anglers who fear it might hurt the local rivers that draw tourists from around the world.

But the two men who pitched the project say they'd take a relatively small amount of water from the spring. They're consulting with a hydrologist to measure and curb impacts on nearby bodies of water.

Paul D'Amico, a retired doctor in Livingston Manor, and his brother-in-law, Warren Mosley, want to harvest 36,000 gallons a day from a surface spring off Old Route 17. Mosley said they've talked with companies that would retrieve, bottle and sell the drinking water, but have not yet struck a deal.

"Most large companies have not been interested because the amount of water is so small," said Mosley, who's retired from the U.S. Air Force.

Average bottled water springs harvest 175,000 gallons a day, nearly five times as much as the Livingston Manor proposal, a spokesman for the International Bottled Water Association said.

D'Amico and Mosley said they'll demolish five blighted bungalows and build a small fill station near the existing spring house on the 90-acre property. In June they told Town of Rockland officials that six to eight trucks would fill up at the site each day, and the operation would have no effect on neighboring rivers.

The property, owned by D'Amico, lies just across Old Route 17 from the Willowemoc Creek, within sight of the Catskill Fly Fishing Museum. The project has drawn opposition from residents, businessmen and fly fishermen. Already the Town of Rockland has received eight letters railing against the plan, or advocating a meticulous review of it.

Because the spring feeds Paradise Lake, which eventually drains into a wetland and the Willowemoc, many fishing groups have voiced opposition.

"Anything that's going to withdraw from a spring is a matter of concern to everybody, including the fishermen and everybody in the community who profits directly or indirectly from fishing," said George Beatty, a member of the New York Anglers' Club.

And because local businesses thrive on fly fishing tourism here, groups like the Roscoe Chamber of Commerce have come out against the bottled water plan, saying it poses a risk to let "private enterprise tamper with this ecosystem."

Others say approval of water harvesting is dangerous because it could open the door to similar projects.

"If this plan goes through, a precedent has been set," said Manny Zanger, from the local Trout Unlimited chapter.

Town officials said they'll stringently review the project. Rockland might even hire its own hydrologist, said Supervisor Patrick Casey. That's fine with Mosley, who said his plan should not be shot down for fear it would start a trend.

"They should take it on a case-by-case basis," he said. "Anyone else would have to go to the Planning Board, just like we are. That's why there's a process."

abosch@th-record.com