By Lynda Myer
Being appointed by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP), an Aecom joint venture has been selected to provide inspection services for New York’s Kensico (Eastview Connection project), that is due to oversee the delivery of the Kensico Third Conveyance Tunnel, which is going to supply water from the Kensico Reservoir, 24km north of New York City, to the Catskill-Delaware Ultra Violet (CDUV) Disinfection Facility in Eastview, New York.
Transporting 9 billion litres of water a day, is up to the third conveyance tunnel and it will provide an increased water flow into the CDUV before it is delivered to New York City residents. The tunnel will provide more efficient movement of water and ensure the city has a reliable back-up in the event of a disruption to its existing supply routes.
In order to completing the project, this joint venture is going to supervise three concurrent teams, whereas the first one will oversee the delivery of the 3.2km-long, deep rock tunnel, building of the new facilities and connection to the tunnels and the existing CDUV facility in Eastview will be up to the second team and the third team is due to stabilise the shoreline during delivery and provide wetlands mitigation adjacent to the Kensico Reservoir. When completed, this third conveyance tunnel will allow the capacity of the Kensico Reservoir to increase and maintain levels as work is under way on a separate reservoir in Hillview.
“This large, multifaceted project will not only revitalise key infrastructure, but will also bring important environmental benefits to one of New York City’s largest water sources and its surroundings. Our history of similar successful water projects of this scale in New York coupled with the industry-leading experts of this joint venture team will benefit the NYCDEP, the state of New York, and the communities within New York City,” said Bane Gaiser, chief executive of Aecom’s US East and Latin America region.
As a part of a larger effort by the NYCDEP this project is slated to upgrade and modernise the city’s aging water supply infrastructure. With the connection to the Eastview UV Facility through an additional hydraulic link, the New York City water supply system will be better protected should the Delaware Aqueduct become unavailable.
