Infrastructure Concerns

New York City’s water is delivered to us from our reservoirs via a system of aqueducts, tunnels and pipes. One of the main aqueducts, the Delaware Aqueduct, is leaking. The leaks are growing and may threaten the aqueduct with catastrophic water loss or collapse. The tunnel leaks with sufficient force to push water through over 650 feet of rock, such that, even if structural failure does not occur in the near future, the erosion of the tunnel lining and subsurface geology may already be so severe that the opportunity to fix the leak had passed. That section of the aqueduct may now be held together only by the internal pressure of the water. If true, any attempt to drain the aqueduct for repairs would cause the tunnel to collapse. This problem, combined with poor maintenance of critical elements of the water supply infrastructure and irresponsible handling of toxic materials by DEP employees, threaten the City’s long term ability to provide sufficient, safe drinking water.

NYPIRG Home Page  •  NYPIRG Environment Page   •   Watershed Page