Part 1: Community Resilience, featuring former watershed journalists Lissa Harris and Tim Knight

In 2011 Hurricane Irene roared through the Catskills "like a fire hose going through an anthill." But yet, the Catskills persisted. The story of Hurricane Irene is one of devastation and resilience. It also illuminates the complicated relationship between human development, water infrastructure, and natural forces.     

Part 2: Infrastructure Resilience, featuring Adam Bosch, former Director for Public Affairs for the NYC DEP

Hurricane Irene raised concerns about the Gilboa Dam and the ability of water infrastructure to manage the massive amounts of water produced by large storms. How the DEP is preparing for the impacts of climate change in our future.     

Part 3: Tough Choices, featuring Aaron Bennett, Flood Hazard Mitigation Coordinator for the NYC DEP

There’s a lot of water in the Catskills! Flooding is a constant threat, made worse by climate change, and most of the businesses in downtown Boiceville will eventually have to move because of it. A vacant lot is a marker of the profoundly tough choices the town has to make in planning for future flooding.  

"Views from the Watershed" is about the landscape, history, and politics of New York City’s water supply, and the complicated relationship between the City and the Catskills communities that steward 90% of its water. It tells the stories of the watershed through firsthand, intimate perspectives from local people (including a historian, a dairy farmer, a former DEP commissioner, a grave restorer, and a forester) on what it means to be a part of the water system.

This series was originally produced by Lize Mogel as a “podcast tour” of the NYC drinking water watershed in the Catskills. Get more info including a driving map and participant bios at walkingthewatershed.com/podcasttour.

Credits:
Project Director: Lize Mogel
Sound Engineer: Brett Barry/Silver Hollow Audio
Soundscape: Suzanne Thorpe
Lead Community Partner: Catskill Mountain Club
Views from the Watershed was funded in part by the Catskill Watershed Corporation, in partnership with the NYC Department of Environmental Protection; Humanities NY, with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities; and the O’Connor Foundation. 

Bio:
Lize Mogel is an interdisciplinary artist and counter-cartographer. She creates maps and mappings (among other forms) that bring the politics of place to the surface, and engages people in the myriad potentials of that place. She is co-editor of the book/map collection "Atlas of Radical Cartography.” From 2016-2024, she developed “Walking the Watershed,” about the relationship between the City and the mostly rural communities that supply its water. She’s currently developing “Wallkill Futures,” participatory projects with Wallkill River communities in the Hudson Valley. More at publicgreen.com.