Time and the Valleys: an Exploration of New York City’s Water Systems (and the sacrifices made by local residents to provide New York City with clean water).

This talk will explore the fascinating and turbulent history of water, people and the Catskills, specifically the Catskill/Delaware watershed with a focus on the Rondout and Neversink Reservoirs. Boncek will take us back to a time before the reservoir, the endless need of New York City to find a source of clean water and the choice of the sites of the Rondout and Neversink Reservoir. You will learn about the lost towns of Montela, Lackawack and Eureka and how their loss through eminent domain is still felt in the area today.

Marianna Boncek is an author, teacher and scholar who lives in New York’s Hudson Valley. Her research interest lies in how physical geography affects the creative arts. She holds a BA from Vermont College, an MA from Goddard, an MFA from Mississippi University for Women and a PhD from Union Institute and University. She is the museum educator at The Time and the Valleys Museum in Grahamsville, New York.