Kiryas Joel, NYC plan 15-mile backup water pipeline; no word on who foots the bill

New York City and Kiryas Joel are planning a 15-mile pipeline that could supply backup water when needed by Orange County municipalities that use the city's Catskill Aqueduct.

The new water main would run beside the aqueduct, from New Windsor in Orange County to Gardiner in Ulster County, and draw water from the city's Delaware Aqueduct. The two giant water tunnels cross paths in Gardiner as they carry 1.2 billon gallons each day from reservoirs in Ulster and Sullivan counties, most of it bound for the city.

The planned pipeline would provide water whenever the Catskill Aqueduct is shut down for repairs. Potential beneficiaries include the village of Kiryas Joel, which has been building a separate 13.5-mile pipeline since 2013 to tap the aqueduct; and the city of Newburgh and town of New Windsor, both of which already rely on the same aqueduct.

KJ pipeline: Construction resumes on water project as total cost rises to $94M

Newburgh water: NY continues paying for aqueduct supply after lake contamination

New housing: Families begin moving into 1,600-unit condo complex in KJ

New York City has budgeted $5 million to cover the cost of the pipe designs, which are expected to take about three years to complete.

But how much construction will cost and who will pay for it remains undetermined.

Any municipalities that plan to use the aqueduct bypass would likely share the construction cost, which could also be funded with federal and state grants, said Ted Timbers, a spokesman for the city's Department of Environmental Protection, the agency that runs the water system.

How long it will take to install the pipe after the three-year design process also is unknown. Timbers said similar projects have taken two to five years to complete, which means the pipeline may not be built and ready for backup use until at least 2027.

City officials presented the proposal last Thursday at a virtual meeting attended by representatives of several Orange County municipalities and county and state agencies.

For Kiryas Joel, the project would ensure an abundant - and expandable - backup supply after the Catskill Aqueduct has become the village's primary water source. Without Delaware Aqueduct access, the village of 33,000 would have to maintain its current well network for reserve use and continue adding new wells as its population and water use keep growing.

"Having a backup water supply is critical because NYC needs to have its water system out of use for repairs and maintenance very often," Kiryas Joel Administrator Gedalye Szegedin said by email. "Since Kiryas Joel will have all its water coming from the NYC system, having a reliable backup plan is a top priority."

Szegedin argued the project would have the added benefit of easing strain on groundwater supplies in places where Kiryas Joel has wells, avoiding potential competition with other private and municipal wells. It currently draws water in Monroe, Woodbury and Cornwall, as well as inside the village.

"Our wells in neighboring communities are a source of tension and litigation with the impacted communities," he said. "Therefore continuing to maintain and expand our groundwater supply is something that we need to avoid."

The pipeline idea dates back more than a decade, first suggested as a regional resource in reports by the Orange County Water Authority in 2010 and 2014.

It would tap the Delaware Aqueduct in Ulster County through Shaft 4, a vertical tunnel that extends deep underground to the aqueduct. And it would follow the path of the Catskill Aqueduct to Riley Road in New Windsor, where New Windsor and Kiryas Joel have their aqueduct taps.

New York City already connected the two aqueducts at Shaft 4 to allow Delaware water to flow into the Catskill tunnel when the Catskill water is too silty. That $21 million interconnection was completed in 2015.

Both the city of Newburgh and New Windsor increased their use of the Catskill Aqueduct after the chemical PFAS tainted their own water supplies. Newburgh switched entirely to aqueduct water after contamination was found in Washington Lake in 2016. New Windsor found PFAS traces in its new wells in 2019 and now uses both the aqueduct and wells, which were equipped with a state-purchased filter.

In an interview last week, New Windsor Supervisor George Meyers said the planned backup line "definitely is a plus for the New Windsor residents because it gives us access to the Delaware." But he sees it as a long-term prospect that will likely take 10 years to complete, and he opposes contributing to the construction cost.

"Am I paying for it?" he said. "No."

Stewart Airport and the village of Cornwall-on-Hudson also have Catskill Aqueduct taps. Cornwall-on-Hudson hasn't bought city water since 2020 because its own supplies were sufficient.

More than 70 communities and institutions in all in Ulster, Orange, Putnam and Westchester counties draw water from New York City's water system, using an average total of about 110 million gallons per day. State law allows any municipality in counties crossed by the aqueducts to buy city water, but each must keep an equal amount in wells or reservoirs to use when an aqueduct is shut down.

Kiryas Joel started planning its aqueduct connection more than two decades ago as a long-term supply for its growing population. Officials hope to finish the 13.5-mile-long pipeline and begin drawing water before the end of the year, using a temporary filtration plant. The last available cost estimate for the project as of last year was $94 million.

Chris McKenna covers government and politics for the Times Herald-Record and USA Today Network. Reach him at cmckenna@th-record.com.

This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: NYC, Kiryas Joel plan backup water line for Orange aqueduct users