March 29, 2010

CONTACT:

Farrell Sklerov / Angel Román (718) 595-6600

DEP Starts Work on New Water Main in Mount Pleasant

Project Will Ensure Continuous Water Supply to Community during Construction of the Ultraviolet Disinfection Plant

Environmental Protection Commissioner Cas Holloway today announced the start of construction on a new water main that will serve the Mount Pleasant community in Westchester County.  The new 5,000-foot 24-inch main will connect the Commerce Street Pumping Station to the Delaware Aqueduct at the Kensico Reservoir, allowing Mount Pleasant to receive water from the Delaware Aqueduct. The town has normally obtained its water from the Catskill Aqueduct, but upcoming work on the $2 billion Ultraviolet (UV) Disinfection Plant for the Catskill-Delaware water system would have disrupted service to the community. The new main will ensure uninterrupted water service to Mount Pleasant, and establishes a redundant source water supply for the long term. The $15 million project will be completed this summer.

"The City invests billions of dollars to maintain the high quality of our water. At the same time, we need to make sure that our work does not affect service to residents upstate," said Commissioner Holloway. "This new main will eliminate any service disruptions for the residents of Mount Pleasant while the City builds its Federally-mandated UV Disinfection Plant. Plus, the community will now have a critical redundancy to their water supply system in case of emergency. I want to thank the town and county for their continued cooperation."

"The DEP water main project in Mount Pleasant is a critical and necessary improvement to the Town's water supply system.  We value the DEP's commitment to providing this critical backup system for our water supply," said Mount Pleasant Town Supervisor Joan A. Maybury.

The new water main will serve as Mount Pleasant's direct connection to the city's water supply system and will allow them to meet their daily water demands. In addition, the original connections to the Catskill Aqueduct will become available as a backup water supply system for emergency purposes upon completion of the UV Disinfection Facility. The water main project, as well as the Ultraviolet Disinfection Facility, is being managed by Malcolm Pirnie/CH2M Hill.  As part of the project, 1,000 feet of street will be repaved and the bridge that crosses Davis Brook will be replaced. DEP is also in the design phase to install two small UV units in the Commerce Street Pumping Station to enable Mount Pleasant to disinfect its water to meet federal regulations.

The Ultraviolet Disinfection Facility will provide secondary disinfection for the Catskill-Delaware Water system which is currently treated with chlorine before entering the in-city distribution system. When completed in 2012, the facility will be able to treat as much as 2.2 billion gallons of water per day. 

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.