Delaware Aqueduct
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The Delaware Aqueduct is an aqueduct in the New York City water supply system. It takes water from the Rondout, Cannonsville, Neversink, and Pepacton reservoirs on the west bank of the Hudson River through the Chelsea Pump Station, then into the West Branch, Kensico, and Hillview reservoirs on the east bank, ending at Hillview in Yonkers, New York.
Built between 1939 and 1945, the Delaware Aqueduct carries about half of New York City's water supply of Template:Convert per day. At Template:Convert wide and Template:Convert long, it is the world's longest tunnel.<ref name="DEP20190816">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Reservoirs and watershedsEdit
The Delaware Aqueduct carries water from the Template:Convert, Template:Convert watershed<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> using the Rondout, Cannonsville, Neversink and Pepacton reservoirs with the Delaware and Neversink tunnels. (The latter three reservoirs are within the Delaware River watershed. The water from the Rondout Reservoir is collected as part of the Delaware system, though the Rondout Creek is part of the Hudson River watershed.<ref>Rondout Creek, Riverkeeper. Accessed May 20, 2025. "The Rondout-Wallkill watershed is the Hudson River Estuary’s largest tributary. The portion of the Rondout watershed from the Catskill headwaters to the Rondout Reservoir is part of New York City’s drinking water supply."</ref>)
Combined, the four reservoirs account for Template:Convert of watershed and Template:Convert of capacity, Template:Convert of which goes to the city — half of daily demand. All this water is fed from the Rondout to West Branch Reservoir in Putnam County (part of the Croton River watershed, which includes the flow of the upstream Boyds Corner Reservoir), then to the Kensico, and Hillview reservoirs in southern Westchester County, before continuing on to distribution within New York City.
Leak problemsEdit
Leaks were first discovered in the Delaware Aqueduct in 1988, with water losses up to Template:Convert per day. The city took many years to analyze the leak problem and devise a solution. In 2010 it announced a plan for a major repair project.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
RepairsEdit
The NYCDEP is building a Template:Convert Rondout-West Branch Bypass Tunnel beneath the Hudson River, which will allow it to bypass the leak. Construction began in November 2013. "The number's going to be $1.5 billion to do the entire program to make the fix," said Paul Rush, Deputy Commissioner of the NYCDEP. "About two-thirds of it, $1 billion, will actually go into constructing a bypass tunnel around the location with the most significant leakage in Roseton, and to do additional concrete grouting in the Wawarsing section."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The new bypass tunnel is the largest construction project in NYCDEP's history. Construction of the tunnel, Template:Convert under the Hudson, was completed in 2019.<ref name="DEP20190816"/> The project involved digging two shafts measuring Template:Convert deep.<ref name="Bonanos s759">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> To complete the repairs, the aqueduct was supposed to shut down temporarily in 2022, but this was postponed.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The shutdown was rescheduled for 2024–2025; completion of the project depends on potential drought conditions and associated demand levels for water from the Delaware system.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The northern section of the tunnel was shut down in September 2024.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> At the time, the closure was planned to last eight months.<ref name="Bonanos s759"/>
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
Further readingEdit
External linksEdit
- "Giant Tube To Supply Water For Ten Millions", Popular Mechanics, August 1937—detailed article with drawings and maps on proposed Delaware Aqueduct