FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE10-03
January 12, 2010
CONTACT:
Michael Saucier/Mercedes Padilla (718) 595-6600
DEP To Perform Work on Rondout-West Branch Tunnel
Planned Shutdown To Last Approximately Two Weeks for Activities Related to Long-Term Repair
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today announced a planned shutdown of the Rondout-West Branch Tunnel (RWBT) portion of the Delaware Aqueduct in support of activities related to the long-term repair of the Tunnel.
“This is another key step toward the repair of the Delaware Aqueduct,” said
Environmental Protection Commissioner Cas Holloway. “Repairing the Tunnel is
crucial to the reliability and long-term sustainability of New York City’s water
infrastructure, and improving that infrastructure is a key goal of Mayor
Bloomberg’s PlaNYC.”
The Rondout-West Branch Tunnel is part of the Delaware Aqueduct which, at 85
miles is the world’s longest continuous tunnel, and a vital component of the
City’s drinking water supply system. The Aqueduct conveys drinking water from
the Cannonsville, Neversink, Pepacton, and Rondout reservoirs to the City’s
distribution system, and provides approximately 50 percent of the City’s daily
water needs.
The shutdown will allow workers to install key pumping equipment necessary to
ultimately repair the Aqueduct. Ahead of and during the shutdown, DEP will
temporarily increase the amount of water available for release from its Delaware
Basin Reservoirs as part of the Flexible Flow Management Plan. Releases from the
City’s Delaware Reservoirs have been governed by the Plan since it was approved
by the Supreme Court Decree Parties in October 2007. The Plan is intended to
provide a more adaptive means for managing the Cannonsville, Pepacton, and
Neversink reservoirs.
DEP manages the City’s water supply, providing more than 1 billion gallons of
water each day to more than 9 million residents, including 8 million in New York
City, and residents of Ulster, Orange, Putnam and Westchester counties.
Approximately 1,000 DEP employees live and work in the watershed communities as
scientists, engineers, surveyors, and administrative professionals, and perform
other critical responsibilities. DEP has invested over $1.5 billion in watershed
protection programs — including partnership organizations such as the Catskill
Watershed Corporation and the Watershed Agricultural Council — that support
sustainable farming practices, environmentally sensitive economic development,
and local economic opportunity. New York City’s water is delivered from the
Catskill, Delaware, and Croton watersheds that extend more than 125
miles from the City, and are comprised of 19 reservoirs, and three controlled
lakes. The DEP police protect the watershed and its facilities, including seven
wastewater treatment plants.