Orange County water planning spans authority, watersheds and master plan

A leak in the street, a private well and a new subdivision do not go through the same Orange County office. If a problem affects your home, your street, or a future subdivision, the right contact depends on whether you are dealing with service, a new system, or the watershed that feeds it.

Start with the right office

For an immediate service problem, your first call should be the local water provider that serves your address, not the county planning office. The Orange County Water Authority is set up to support local, intermunicipal and regional water planning and projects, so it is the place for countywide coordination, not the utility truck that comes to your curb.

If the issue involves a well, a new water system, or major system components such as mains, pumps or tanks, the Orange County Department of Health is the county office to know. Its Environmental Health and Sanitary Engineering functions are tied to water-system oversight, and its water system improvement checklist asks for a DOH-348 application, the fee schedule, an engineer’s report, technical specifications and complete plans before review can move forward.

The county Water Authority’s main office is at 124 Main Street in Goshen, with phone number 845-615-3868 and email ocwa@orangecountygov.com. The Department of Health is in the 1887 County Building at 124 Main Street, 1st Floor, Goshen, with phone number 845-360-6600 and an online contact form through the county site. The Water Authority handles planning and watershed coordination; the Department of Health handles health and system review.

How Orange County’s planning network works

The county’s Water Master Plan, adopted Oct. 7, 2010, was prepared by the Orange County Department of Planning and the Orange County Water Authority with Henningson, Durham & Richardson Architecture and Engineering, Stone Environmental and McGoey, Hauser & Edsall Consulting Engineers.

The plan sits inside the county’s broader comprehensive planning framework, which means water supply, infrastructure and growth are linked instead of handled as separate questions. In practical terms, that affects where development can go, how new systems are reviewed, and how county officials think about supply reliability before a shortage becomes visible at the tap.

The county Water Authority supports local, intermunicipal and regional water planning and projects, and it coordinates analysis of county water resources to provide a scientific basis for planning and decision-making.

Why watersheds are part of the answer

Orange County also organizes water around watersheds, not just towns. It tracks the Wallkill River Watershed, Moodna Creek Watershed, Glenmere Lake Watershed, Monhagen Brook Watershed and Quassaick Creek Watershed, showing that what happens upstream can shape drinking water, runoff, and land-use decisions far downstream.

The Moodna Creek watershed is the clearest example. The basin is about 180 square miles, roughly one-fifth of Orange County, and the Moodna Creek is the only major basin in the county that lies entirely within Orange County. It joins the Hudson River in Cornwall and is flanked by the Ramapo River basin to the south and southeast, the Wallkill River to the west and southwest, and the Quassaick Creek basin on the northern boundary.

The Orange County Water Authority worked with municipalities and other stakeholders for nearly three years on a management plan for the Moodna Creek Watershed. The county listed flooding, loss of rare species, water quality in the creek and its tributaries, and the need to secure sustainable public water supplies as reasons for the plan.

The Wallkill River is a north-flowing river system connecting New Jersey, Orange County, Ulster County, the Rondout Creek and the Hudson River Estuary, which means Orange County’s water concerns do not stop at town lines or even county lines.

Where planning meets development decisions

The county’s watershed files are not just environmental reading, they are part of the land-use system. The Quassaick Creek Watershed Management Plan, for example, was a project of the Orange County Planning Department, overseen by Commissioner Dave Church, managed by Senior Planner Kelly Dobbins and supported by Planner Chad Wade, with additional funding from the Orange County Water Authority and preparation for the New York State Department of State.

If a project affects runoff, recharge, stream health or the need for new infrastructure, county planning and health review become part of the decision path. The county’s water system checklist for new systems, wells, mains, pumps and tanks makes that gatekeeping role plain: water infrastructure is not simply installed, it is reviewed against engineering and health standards.

For neighborhoods near sensitive sources, source protection can matter as much as pipe repair. In March 2026, the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the Orange County Water Authority announced a land acquisition to protect the Newburgh water supply, citing drinking-water protection for 29,000 people.

What to do when water feels like a local problem

If your water issue is a service interruption, a leak in the street, or a pressure problem, start with the local water provider tied to your address. If the concern is a private well, a new subdivision, a new tank, pump or main, call the Orange County Department of Health in Goshen. If the question is broader, such as how a project affects a watershed, or how the county is coordinating supplies, the Orange County Water Authority is the place to ask.