KINGSTON – Cleaning of the concrete lining of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection’s Catskill Aqueduct from a facility near the Wallkill River in Ulster County to the Croton Reservoir was performed in recent months as the 32.5 miles of the water tunnel were cleaned from the inside.
During that time frame from November 10, 2019 through January 23, the water tunnel was shut down without affecting the reliable supply of water to New York City and the 20 communities in Ulster, Orange, Putnam and Westchester counties that usually draw their drinking water from the aqueduct.
Leaks and other defects including surface cracks were repaired at several locations and the first two of 35 century-old values along the aqueduct were replaced.
DEP’s work on the Catskill Aqueduct is key to preparing for a shutdown of the Delaware Aqueduct in 2022. The agency is working on a $1 billion project to repair two areas of leakage from the Delaware Aqueduct. The primary leak will be eliminated though the construction of a 2.5 mile bypass tunnel that is now being built 600 feet under the Hudson River from Newburgh to Wappinger.
Excavation of the bypass tunnel was completed in August 2019 and workers are now lining the tunnel with steel and concrete.
The bypass tunnel will be connected to structurally sound portions of the existing Delaware Aqueduct to convey water around the leak. That aqueduct will stay in service while DEP works on the bypass tunnel parallel tunnel to it. Once that tunnel is complete, DEP will shut down the Delaware Aqueduct for five to eight months to finish the connections on either side of the Hudson River. The leaking section of the existing aqueduct will be plugged and taken out of service forever.
