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Work on the $1.9 billion Kensico-Eastview Connection tunneling project began in Mount Pleasant on Tuesday, July 23, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection announced.
The two-mile-long tunnel, which will run around 500 feet below ground, will run between the Kensico Reservoir and the Catskill-Delaware Ultraviolet Light Disinfection Facility in Eastview and improve the operational flexibility of the drinking water supply for southern Westchester and New York City, according to officials.
To do this, the tunnel will give another route for drinking water to travel between the two vital components, giving the Department of Environmental Protection a chance to take other facilities out of service for maintenance and inspections.
"Creating additional redundancy in our vital water supply system is an essential investment for the long-term resilience of the remarkable feat of engineering that provides more than 9 million New Yorkers with a reliable supply of pristine tap water," said DEP Commissioner Rohit T. Aggarwala, who continued:
"This project will help us fulfill our commitment to providing consistent and reliable delivery of the highest-quality water to New York City and the growing population centers in Westchester County.”
The first phase of construction work will begin with site preparation at the DEP campus next to Kensico Reservoir. It will then continue with the digging of two large shafts around 400 to 500 feet deep, the tunneling between them, and the addition of new facilities at Kensico, officials said.
The tunnel is expected to be completed by 2035.
According to the DEP, Kensico Reservoir, built in 1915, currently stores 30 billion gallons of water at full capacity. Around 1 billion gallons are drawn every day to serve 8.6 million residents in New York City and around 500,000 Westchester residents.
The project will also include upgrades at Kensico, including upgrades to a century-old intake chamber that will be enlarged.
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