Did The Earth Move For You?

KJ set to start Aqueduct pipeline dig
13.5-mile-long pipe would tap NYC water
By Chris Mckenna
Times Herald-Record
Published: 2:00 AM - 03/16/12

Kiryas Joel is preparing to start construction of the first phase of a 13.5-mile pipeline to the Catskill Aqueduct, a $29 million project the village has planned for more than a decade to solve its ever-increasing demand for drinking water.

For this initial work, the village plans to bury a 24-inch-wide pipe under state and county roads from Kiryas Joel to Cornwall, a 6.5-mile stretch that takes in all of Seven Springs Road and Ridge Road and the northern half of Route 32 in Woodbury, according to papers submitted to the state Department of Environmental Conservation in October.

A project engineer met with Woodbury officials in February and told them construction might begin in May. Woodbury Supervisor John Burke responded last week with a long list of questions and demands intended to minimize the traffic disruption and potential property damage.

Kiryas Joel still needs permits for the work, according to various permitting agencies.
As of Wednesday, the DEC had yet to grant permits to cross wetlands and disturb streams, an agency spokeswoman said.

The stream permit is needed because the water main would burrow under the Woodbury Creek.

NYC permission on hold
Meanwhile, the agency that oversees New York City's vast, upstate water supply and must grant Kiryas Joel permission to tap the Catskill Aqueduct says it hasn't finalized a water-supply agreement.

They also said they have had no contact with Kiryas Joel about its water project for at least a year.

If true, that lack of communication is surprising because representatives of the village and the city's Department of Environmental Protection agreed they were on the verge of finalizing a deal when they met to discuss the project in mid-February 2011, according to notes from that meeting that the Times Herald-Record obtained last year.

In response to a Freedom of Information Law request for any meeting notes, email exchanges or other documents concerning the project since April 1, 2011, department spokesman Mike Saucier said there were none.

The first stage of construction will end at a property on Route 32 in Cornwall where Kiryas Joel plans to build a pump station and connect a new well it needs to boost its backup water supply, according to the village's paperwork.

Upstate communities that use the city's water are required to maintain adequate backup sources they can use when the city's massive water tunnels are shut off for repairs. Kiryas Joel still had to prove it could meet that requirement when its lawyers met with the Department of Environmental Protection in February 2011.

Kiryas Joel's engineers told the state in October that its new Cornwall well can produce 600,000 gallons of water a day, which is a gusher. Drawings submitted with its permit application suggest the well is on a vacant, 9.7-acre parcel Kiryas Joel bought for $264,000 in November 2010.

Backup wells required
Farther north on Route 32, Kiryas Joel also hopes to connect an abandoned water system once used by the Star Expansion factory. Kiryas Joel officials told the city last year that the Star Expansion wells can produce 1.5 million gallons of water per day.

Ultimately, Kiryas Joel plans to extend its pipe to New Windsor and share that town's tap into the Catskill Aqueduct. It also plans to build a treatment plan on Seven Springs Road in Woodbury to filter the aqueduct water.