NEW YORK – Don’t worry if your tap water in New York tastes a little different over the next two weeks – everything is going according to plan.
Starting Monday, the city’s Environmental Protection Department will increase the amount of water from the Croton Watershed: a cluster of 12 reservoirs located in Westchester and Putnam counties.
Officials said the increased basin water needed to supply the city’s supply could cause a slight difference in the taste of what comes out of the tap due to differences in reservoir systems.
The change is part of preparatory work for repairs to the Delaware Aqueduct later this year.
The Delaware Aqueduct, the longest tunnel in the world, according to the DEP, is closed for two weeks in March (6-19) as part of a planned test ahead of a months-long closure in October. During this time, any necessary leak repairs will be made.
The DEP, which manages the city’s water supply, said the city had approved $1 billion to connect a 2.5-mile-long diversion tunnel around known aqueduct leaks first detected. times years earlier. The repair project was approved in 2010.
“Nearly 10 million New Yorkers rely on us to provide them with high-quality water every day of the year, without fail, and this complex repair of the Delaware Aqueduct will ensure that we can continue to fulfill this mission. essential for generations to come,” said DEP Commissioner Rohit T. Aggarwala.
The aqueduct is 85 miles long and provides about half of the city’s water supply from four reservoirs in the Catskill Mountains.
Hundreds of feet below the Hudson River, the new bypass will be the first tunnel built under the river since 1957.