Dear Friend,

Have you ever heard of high-volume hydraulic fracturing ("fracking" for short)? I'll try not to geek out on you; simply put, "fracking" is a drilling process where water and chemicals are injected at very high pressure into a location that has natural gas...

As you can imagine, there are some potential benefits but some HUGE potential consequences (like arsenic, benzene and other toxic chemicals that could be released into our drinking water supply) should things go wrong. That's why I'm writing to you today.

Right now, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is considering a plan that would allow drilling into natural gas deposits that are buried – get this – in the watershed that supplies 90% of NYC's water supply.

This proposal could be really, really risky for New York City. 90% of our city's water supply comes from the area that would be impacted by expanded drilling.

The New York State Assembly is meeting tomorrow to discuss the proposed drilling. Your email right NOW can help us focus our leaders on the risks of this drilling plan and the need to get it right – will you send your comment today?

While the DEC claims that this drilling would be harmless and well monitored, the potential dangers are disturbing. The hydraulic fracking process would use both high pressure and dangerous chemicals like benzene – toxic to humans at even low levels – to drill under the water supply.

For the health and safety of nine million New Yorkers, we need to make sure no drilling is allowed to put at risk the safety of our water supply.

Send your email now to make sure the Assembly knows how much is at stake and what the risks are of drilling for natural gas in our watershed. The risks include:

• Contaminating the ground water surrounding the reservoirs and threatening the safety of our water;

• Elevating risks of chemical spills and wastewater spills into our water; and

• Jeopardizing our greatest natural resource and potentially forcing the city to build a $10 billion filtration plant.