New York City is set to shut down a key aqueduct providing nearly half the city’s water supply this winter.
The shutdown is part of a $2 billion project aimed at addressing significant leaks under the Hudson River.
The Delaware Aqueduct, located in upstate New York, has been scheduled for this temporary shutdown for years.
City officials have been gradually increasing capacity from other parts of the city’s 19-reservoir water system to prepare.
Tunnel workers push equipment up a rail track to a machine boring a 2.5-mile bypass tunnel for the Delaware Aqueduct in Marlboro, N.Y., May 16, 2018. Part of the aqueduct will be shut down through the winter as part of a $2 billion project.
Julie Jacobson/AP
Water will continue to flow through New York City’s faucets during the shutdown, but its taste might change as the city relies more heavily on alternate water sources.
“The water will always be there,” said Paul Rush, deputy commissioner for the city’s Department of Environmental Protection. “We’re going to be changing the mix of water that consumers get.”
The Delaware Aqueduct is the world’s longest tunnel, extending 85 miles from four reservoirs in the Catskill region to other reservoirs in New York City’s northern suburbs.
In operation since 1944, it supplies about half the city’s daily water consumption of 1.1 billion gallons, serving over 8 million residents as well as some upstate municipalities.
However, the aqueduct has been leaking up to 35 million gallons of water daily, mainly from a section deep below the Hudson River.
City officials have known about the leakage for decades but could not take the critical aqueduct offline for extended repairs.
To address this, a parallel 2.5-mile (4-kilometer) bypass tunnel was constructed beneath the Hudson River over the past decade.
During the shutdown, expected to last up to eight months, the new tunnel will be connected to the aqueduct.
While more than 40 miles of the aqueduct from the upstate reservoirs will be out of service during this period, a section closer to the city will remain operational.
Repairs to other leaks farther north in the aqueduct are also planned for the coming months.
Rush emphasized that the timing of the work was carefully chosen to avoid the summer months when water demand is highest.
The city has also spent years enhancing other parts of the water system, some of which date back more than a century.
“There’s a lot of work done thinking about where the alternate supply would come from,” Rush said.
The Catskill Aqueduct’s capacity has been increased to compensate for the shutdown, and more drinking water will now be drawn from the Croton Watershed’s 12 reservoirs and three lakes in the city’s northern suburbs.
This shift might slightly alter the taste of the city’s water due to a higher presence of minerals and algae in the Croton system.
“While some residents may notice a temporary, subtle difference in taste or aroma during the repairs, changes in taste don’t mean something is wrong with the water,” said DEP Commissioner Rohit Aggarwala in a statement.
“Just like different brands of bottled water taste a bit different, so do our different reservoirs.”
This article contains reporting from The Associated Press
