AGENCY TESTIMONY
Postponement of the Delaware Aqueduct repair project
0:14:23
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178 sec
Paul Rush explains the decision to pause the final phase of the $2 billion Delaware Aqueduct repair work due to severe drought conditions, despite extensive preparations and investments made for the project.
- The repair work aimed to fix significant leaks in a portion of the tunnel by connecting a 2.5-mile bypass tunnel under the Hudson River.
- DEP had invested hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure upgrades to the Catskill and Croton water supply systems to prepare for the shutdown.
- The project was initially scheduled for winter when water consumption is typically lowest and inflows from precipitation are highest.
- The Delaware Aqueduct is now back online, and DEP is optimistic about resuming repair work next fall.
Paul Rush
0:14:23
Regarding the Delaware aqueduct repair, unfortunately, the drought conditions led to our difficult decision to pause the final phase of the $2,000,000,000 repair work on the Delaware aqueduct, which would have fixed significant leaks to a portion of the tunnel by connecting a 2.5 mile bypass tunnel under the Hudson River near Newberg.
0:14:46
In order to initiate the last phase of work, DEP stopped the flow of water from the 4 reservoirs that feed the Delaware aqueduct and increased the city's re re reliance on the other two water supply systems, or aqueduct systems, the Croton and Catskill systems.
0:15:06
DEP has been actively preparing for this phase of the repair for decades, and we have invested 100 of 1,000,000 of dollars in infrastructure upgrades to the Catskill and Croton water supply systems to ensure that they could effectively meet water supply demand during the shutdown.
0:15:25
Nearly $200,000,000 of rehabilitation work was done to improve the flow of water and repair leaks in the Catskill Aqueduct.
0:15:32
That work was completed at the end of 2021.
0:15:54
Excuse me for one second.
0:16:04
The Croton Falls and Cross River pump stations were also upgraded to increase their size and capacity, allowing us to take more water from the Croton system.
0:16:14
We also completed a connection between the Croton system and city tunnel number 2 in the Bronx so that water from the Croton systems could be provided to more areas of the city, in fact, all areas of the city.
0:16:28
All of these precursor projects allowed us to push more water through the Catskill and Croton systems while the Delaware system was offline, ensuring that we would be able to meet demand.
0:16:40
The final phase of the repair work, which would stem the loss of over 35,000,000 gallons a day, started on October 1st.
0:16:49
That the work was scheduled over the winter because that's when water consumption is typically the lowest and inflows from precipitation are the highest.
0:16:58
But the drought was too severe to safely continue, so the project was paused.
0:17:03
The Delaware aqueduct is now back online and supplying water to New Yorkers.
0:17:08
We are optimistic that we'll be able to resume the repair work next fall.
0:17:13
In the meantime, DEP continues to work proactively to reduce water demand and ensure that the system is fully prepared to complete the repairs.
