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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 13-18

February 20, 2013

CONTACT:

Adam Bosch (845) 334-7868 / Chris Gilbride (718) 595-6600

Department of Environmental Protection Completes $17.8 Million Upgrade to Cross River Pumping Station

New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Carter Strickland today announced the completion of a $17.8 million upgrade to the Cross River Pumping Station that has more than doubled its capacity to pump water from the Croton Watershed to the Delaware Aqueduct. The pumping station, located in Katonah, N.Y. in Westchester County, pumps water from the Cross River Reservoir in the Croton Watershed to the Delaware Aqueduct and will allow DEP to maximize Croton water during times of drought in the Delaware watershed, as well as act as a supplemental source during the upcoming shutdown and repair of the Rondout West Branch portion of the Delaware Aqueduct. The extensive rehabilitation work, which began in 2009 and was completed last month, has increased the facility’s pumping capacity from 27 million gallons a day to 60 million gallons a day. “Providing a reliable source of high quality water to nearly nine million New Yorkers requires a robust system with critical redundancies,” said Commissioner Strickland. “The completion of the upgrades to the Cross River facility will help ensure that we continue to meet the daily water needs of almost half of New York State’s population even during times of drought.”

The original Cross River pumping station was constructed in the late 1940s and was located at the base of the Cross River Dam. The pump was driven by a hydraulic turbine which turned the pump and pressurized the delivery of water from the reservoir to the Delaware Aqueduct. As part of the upgrade, the original hydraulically-driven pump was replaced with three higher-capacity, electric pumps. Electrification will permit the pumping station to operate over a wider range of capacities and conditions, and eliminates the previous loss of water due to the hydraulic turbines. The existing 48-inch force main that extends from the Cross River valve chamber at the base of the dam has now been converted into a suction line to feed water to the three new pumps. In addition to the installation of the pump system, the project included demolition of the previous Cross River Pumping Station.

The upgrade project also included installation of new state-of-the-art instrumentation and electronic control systems, construction of a new substation by New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG), and a new, buried electrical duct bank between the substation and the pumping station. There were also modifications to the existing 48-inch force main, installation of a new HVAC system, demolition of the old electrical substation, removal and replacement of the outdated electrical system, site improvements and restoration of the site access driveways, and installation of piping to provide as much as two million gallons of water a day to the Town of Bedford.

The Croton System is the oldest of City’s three water supply systems (Croton, Catskill and Delaware) that provide drinking water to the New York City and upstate communities. Although it was once the only reservoir system supplying water from outside the City, the Croton System is now the smallest of the three. The Croton watershed is a series of interconnected reservoirs and lakes in northern Westchester and Putnam Counties.

DEP manages the New York City’s water supply, providing more than one billion gallons of water each day to more than nine million residents, including eight million in New York City, and residents of Ulster, Orange, Putnam and Westchester counties. This water comes from the Catskill, Delaware, and Croton watersheds that extend more than 125 miles from the City, and the system comprises 19 reservoirs, three controlled lakes, and numerous tunnels and aqueducts. DEP has nearly 6,000 employees, including almost 1,000 scientists, engineers, surveyors, watershed maintainers and others professionals in the upstate watershed. In addition to its $68 million payroll and $153 million in annual taxes paid in upstate counties, DEP has invested more than $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. In addition, DEP has a robust capital program with over $13 billion in investments planned over the next 10 years that will create up to 3,000 construction-related jobs per year. For more information, visit www.nyc.gov/dep, like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nycwater, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/nycwater.

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