NYC Water

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Water System Maintenance—Rockaway Peninsula

On Friday June 9, DEP engineers will be re-activating a large water main along Rockaway Boulevard. This work could cause residents to see discolored water at the tap. While it is not harmful, residents should not drink obviously discolored water.  

You can help by reporting discolored water to 311 (you can call 311 or fill out this form). DEP tracks these reports to help pinpoint problems in the water delivery system and guide crews to open fire hydrants to flush the system. Go here to learn more about the causes of discolored water.

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NYC Rain Garden

Rain garden on a rainy day. ☔️💦

Learn more about Green Infrastructure. 

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Pepacton Reservoir Spillway

As the reservoir with the largest capacity, Pepacton Reservoir normally contributes more than 25% of the total daily water flow into New York City.

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Meet Nora

Some interesting facts and statistics about Nora, the new TBM:

The main body, which includes its cutter head, is 21.5 feet in diameter, 42.6 feet long, and weighs 2.2 million pounds.

The trailing gear—which processes tunnel muck and positions pre-case concrete liners—is an additional 426.5 feet long and weighs 520,000 pounds. View a scale model video. 

That means the entire machine stretches nearly 470 feet and weighs more than 2.7 million pounds.

Nora was built to withstand 30 bar of pressure – believed to be the most of any TBM every manufactured. That’s about 11 times the amount of pressure that comes out of a garden hose. The machine was built to withstand that much pressure because workers encountered huge inflows of water under immense head pressure when the aqueduct was first built more than 70 years ago.

To deal with groundwater inflows, Nora also has a dewatering system that can pump out 2,500 gallons per minute.

Nora will be pushing into a very porous formation of limestone. To ensure this rock is sound for drilling, it will first need to be hardened. To do this, the TBM includes three drills that can drill ahead in 30 different positions to inject grout into the porous rock, making it one hard mass.

The entire machine is so large that it will need to be shipped on several trucks. The first half of the trailing system should be shipped around the end of March, wish several other shipments to follow in May and June.

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Schoharie Reservoir can store up to 19.6 billion gallons of water and accounts for roughly 15 percent of the drinking water delivered to NYC each day. Happy Friday! 

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Blizzard Boosts Watershed Snowpack

Watershed maintainers ventured out after last week’s snowstorm to take manual snow core samples in the Schoharie watershed. Using an aluminum tube and a spring scale, the scientific process measures the snow water equivalent, or the amount of water trapped within the snowpack. This reading allows upstate scientists to determine how much additional water will flow into the reservoirs once the snow melts. The blizzard, officially named Stella, swept through the Hudson Valley and Catskills and brought massive amounts of snow, with anywhere from 12-30 inches falling across parts of the watershed. 

The results show that the resurgent snowpack in the watershed now holds more water than at any other time this winter. The previous peak came during the Feb. 15 snow survey, which showed 64.9 billion gallons of snow-water equivalent. That tally dropped to zero on Feb. 28. The post-Stella results from March 16 now show 93.8 billion gallons of snow water equivalent. About 80 percent of that snow water is in the Catskills.

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NYC water coming over the spillway at New Croton Reservoir. 

630,000 tests on NYC’s drinking water in 2016 show that it meets or exceeds all health & safety requirements. Read our Drinking Water Quality Report. 

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DEP biologists performing the annual mid-winter survey discovered a record-breaking 116 bald eagles on water supply lands—the most of any year since the surveys began in 2011. We currently monitor 22 active nesting territories on nine reservoirs, but bald eagles can be seen on all 19 reservoirs that comprise our water supply system. DEP actively works to protect bald eagle nesting territories through project planning, buffer zones, and by restricting certain activities during the nesting season. 

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Snow shoveling tips:

keep fire hydrants visible for easy @fdny access in case of emergency

clear catch basins of debris to ensure proper roadway drainage

stretch, drink water, and rest (as per @nychealth)

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On this snowy day, remember to keep fire hydrants clear and visible when shoveling snow. Stay safe and warm NYC!

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Water system maintenance advisory for residents in Williamsburg, Brooklyn: There is a broken pipe within Old Domino Sugar Factory in Williamsburg. The property owner is making repairs now. This work could cause some residents to see discolored water at the tap. While it is not harmful, residents should not drink obviously discolored water.  

Please report discolored water to 311 (you can call 311 or fill in this form online) to help our engineers pinpoint any problems. Crews will be on standby to open hydrants and flush water mains, if necessary. Go here to learn more about the causes of discolored water.

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Maintenance Advisory: Bay Ridge

Water system maintenance advisory for residents in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn: From Wed., Feb. 1 to Fri., Feb. 3, DEP engineers will be making necessary adjustments to the drinking water delivery system. This work could cause some residents to see discolored water at the tap. While it is not harmful, residents should not drink obviously discolored water.  

Please report discolored water to 311 (you can call 311 or fill in this form online) to help our engineers pinpoint any problems. Crews will be on standby to open hydrants and flush water mains, if necessary. Go here to learn more about the causes of discolored water.

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Extra Acres for Upstate Recreation

An additional 2,640 acres of City-owned property across the watershed in Delaware, Greene and Ulster counties were opened for recreation in 2016. The vast majority of them were opened as public access areas that do not require a DEP access permit. Some recreation properties—especially those near reservoirs—still require a free access permit that can be applied for by going to www.nyc.gov/dep/accesspermit. DEP first established public access areas in 2008 to allow recreation without permits on certain watershed lands. Since then, the number of acres open for recreation without a permit has more than tripled, from 20,009 to 69,016. In total, DEP has opened 133,017 acres of land and water for fishing, hiking, hunting, snowshoeing and other forms of low-impact recreation.

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2017 Art & Poetry Contest

Entries for DEP’s 31st annual Water Resources Art and Poetry Contest are now being accepted online until March 8, 2017. Second through twelfth grade students attending public, independent, charter or parochial schools and/or home-schooled in New York City, and in the East and West of Hudson watersheds, are invited to create original art and compose poetry that reflects an appreciation for our shared water resources. Students can submit poems and artwork including paintings, collages, three-dimensional models, photography, animation and videos of dance performances, public service announcements and songs based on five central themes: water, the drinking water system, wastewater treatment, harbor water quality, and stewardship/climate change. Teachers, parents and students can visit www.nyc.gov/dep/artandpoetry to view the contest guidelines and resource materials, submit entries online, see past winners, and learn more about New York City water.

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Maintenance Advisory: Prospect Park

Water system maintenance advisory for residents in the vicinity of Prospect Park, Brooklyn: On Thursday, January 19, DEP engineers will be making necessary adjustments to the drinking water delivery system. This work could cause some residents to see discolored water at the tap. While it is not harmful, residents should not drink obviously discolored water. 

Please report discolored water to 311 (you can call 311 or fill in this form online) to help our engineers pinpoint any problems. Crews will be on standby to open hydrants and flush water mains, if necessary. Go here to learn more about the causes of discolored water.

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Dredging Flushing Bay

As we begin 2017, DEP remains steadfast in its commitment to improve the health of our local waterways. Just last week, equipment was mobilized and preparatory work has begun on a $34 million project to dredge portions of Flushing Bay in the vicinity of the World’s Fair Marina. This work will significantly reduce nuisance odors, enhance existing wetlands, and remove deteriorated timber piles, an abandoned pier and non-native trees to improve views of the Bay. The dredging is anticipated to be completed in 2017, while the wetland expansion and planting will continue over the next several years.

The work will encompass long-reach excavators situated on floating barges dredging 91,000 cubic yards of sediment over a 17.5 acre area in the vicinity of the World’s Fair Marina and two combined sewer outfalls. In addition, non-native trees, 78 deteriorated timber piles and an abandoned pier will be removed to improve views along a portion of the 1.4-mile long Flushing Bay Promenade. The work will conclude with the enhancement of more than three-acres of wetland habitat, which will naturally filter the water in the Bay, including mudflats, intertidal marsh and high marsh.

During the dredging, a turbidity curtain will be installed to isolate the work area from the rest of the Bay and there will be continuous monitoring of water quality and any odors. The extracted sediment will be processed, dewatered and transferred for offsite disposal. Dredging operations are expected to occur over a 24-hour period, seven days a week, however boaters with vessels docked in the public marina will have access to their watercrafts at all times.

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Ongoing Forestry Project at Ashokan

Work progresses on a project to remove potentially hazardous trees along a stretch of Route 28 in Shokan in order to protect utility lines, public safety, and improve the overall health and vigor of the forest adjacent to Ashokan Reservoir. The conifer trees, many of them more than 100 feet tall, were planted by New York City in the early 1900s as part of the development of Ashokan Reservoir. Along with protecting public safety and utility lines, forestry projects open the forest floor to sunlight and promote the natural growth of the next generation of forest. The timber removed from the Route 28 site is being harvested by a professional timber company based near Cooperstown, and will be used for home building and finishing products. The volume of wood produced from this sustainable forestry project is enough to build 20 houses and provide a dozen jobs.