At a time when the president is looking for ways to make our nation self-reliant when it comes to energy, some local officials want to put an end to gas drilling in the region.

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer is among those calling for a ban on drilling in areas that provide the city with drinking water.

He says the water could be contaminated by the toxic chemicals used in the drilling process.

To stress his point, he released a report outlining two dozen severe health problems in nine different states because of gas drilling.

"In Wyoming the water there where the drilling took place - 1,500 times the safe level for benzene," said Stringer. "A house in Ohio exploded because the methane found in the tap water ignited."

The Delaware-Catskills watershed, pictured above, produces 90 percent of the city's drinking water.