There is growing opposition to natural gas drilling in areas that feed New York City's water supply.

According to Times Herald-Record story this week, more than 100 people packed a hearing room inside New York City Hall to hear testimony on gas drilling and its potential impacts on the city's water.

"(Gas drilling) is going to make or break our watershed," said Councilman James Gennaro. "It's completely inconsistent with a drinking water supply."

Gas companies have secured land leases in the counties such as Sullivan and Ulster, where reservoirs supply some of New York City's water needs. A major concern is whether the toxic chemicals used by the drilling companies in new "hydraulic fracturing" drilling techniques will poison the drinking water. (See our blog post last week.)

Any compromise to New York City's water could trigger a federal mandate to build a filtration system that would cost upwards of $20 billion.

Assemblyman James Brennan is writing legislation that would ban drilling in the areas that supply New York City's water. This legislation would offer more protection than the one-mile buffer around reservoirs that the city's Department of Environmental Protection seeks.