August 11, 2021

DEP continuing analyses for future upgrades to dam and dikes at Ashokan Reservoir

Drilling and inspection will require short-term closures at Ashokan Promenade and Ashokan Rail Trail to ensure safety of the public and workers

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today announced two temporary closures of recreation areas at Ashokan Reservoir, allowing experts to gather information that will allow the City to design future upgrades to the dam and dikes that form the reservoir. The work will focus on gathering soil, bedrock and structural information needed for the engineering and design of upgrades at several structures around the reservoir. These analyses are connected to the Ashokan Century Program, a comprehensive, multi-year capital program to upgrade the dam, dikes, chambers and other infrastructure at Ashokan Reservoir. The program—which comprises the largest public works project in the Catskills in more than 50 years—was announced in 2017.

DEP’s work will require sections of the Ashokan Promenade and Ashokan Rail Trail to be closed for short periods of time in August and September. The following is a description of the work and a schedule for the temporary recreation closures.

Work at the Ashokan Promenade

The Ashokan Promenade is a paved walkway atop the Olivebridge Dam, West Dike and Middle Dike on the south side of Ashokan Reservoir. The walkway is accessed through two parking lots off Route 28A.

DEP will close the westernmost portion of the promenade, atop Olivebridge Dam, on weekdays from Monday, Aug. 23 until Tuesday, Aug. 31. The path will reopen for the weekend. Signs will be posted in the parking lot on Route 28A to make visitors aware of the temporary closure. The closure will allow a specially trained team of inspectors to rappel down the face of Olivebridge Dam to document its condition. This analysis will provide DEP with information necessary to rehabilitate the dam several years from now.

Visitors are encouraged to access the promenade from the Fying Pan parking area off Route 28A, or utilize the Ashokan Rail Trail or Ashokan Quarry Trail for recreation while the dam is closed.

Work at the Ashokan Rail Trail

The Ashokan Rail Trail is an 11.5-mile-long trail that occupies a former railroad corridor on the north side of Ashokan Resevoir. That side of the reservoir includes three impoundments—West Hurley Dike, Woodstock Dike and Glenford Dike. A parking lot for the Ashokan Rail Trail is located alongside Woodstock Dike, and the trail itself runs atop Glenford Dike for approximately one-half mile.

DEP will perform subsurface investigations at Woodstock Dike in August and early September. This work will not affect the Ashokan Rail Trail. However, a small portion of the parking lot at the Woodstock Dike Trailhead will be closed to accommodate a drill rig that will collect the rock and soil samples. The work area will be cordoned off with fencing and visual barriers.

DEP will perform subsurface investigations at Glenford Dike from Sept. 13–24. That portion of the Ashokan Rail Trail will be closed Monday through Friday to ensure the safety of workers and the public. That stretch of the trail will be re-opened each Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday until the work is completed.

While Glenford Dike is closed, Ashokan Rail Trail visitors are encouraged to use the Ashokan Station Trailhead and the Boiceville Bridge Trailhead to access sections of the trail that will remain open.

The Ashokan Century Program

The Ashokan Century Program is a comprehensive set of projects to upgrade practically all the infrastructure at Ashokan Reservoir, including the dam, dikes, chambers, spillway and the Dividing Weir Bridge. Some of the earliest work is expected to begin in 2023, and the program is expected to stretch well into the 2030s.

The Ashokan Century Program is part of DEP’s continuing efforts to upgrade dams and other key facilities that provide 1.1 billion gallons of drinking water every day to more than 9 million New Yorkers. That effort began nearly three decades ago. Beginning in the 1990s, DEP rehabilitated a number of dams that are part of its Croton Water Supply System in Putnam and Westchester counties. In 2014, DEP completed the $138 million full-scale rehabilitation of Gilboa Dam at Schoharie Reservoir.

About 40 percent of New York City’s drinking water passes through Ashokan Reservoir each day. It impounds 125 billion gallons of water at full capacity. The reservoir collects rainwater and melting snow from a 255-square-mile watershed that includes part of 11 towns in Ulster, Greene and Delaware counties. The reservoir conveys that drinking water to New York City through the 92-mile-long Catskill Aqueduct.

DEP manages New York City’s water supply, providing more than 1 billion gallons of high-quality water each day to more than 9 million New Yorkers. This includes more than 70 upstate communities and institutions in Ulster, Orange, Putnam and Westchester counties who consume an average of 110 million total gallons of drinking water daily from New York City’s water supply system. This water comes from the Catskill, Delaware, and Croton watersheds that extend more than 125 miles from the City, and the system comprises 19 reservoirs, three controlled lakes, and numerous tunnels and aqueducts. DEP has nearly 6,000 employees, including almost 1,000 scientists, engineers, surveyors, watershed maintainers and other professionals in the watershed. In addition to its $70 million payroll and $168.9 million in annual taxes paid in upstate counties, DEP has invested more than $1.7 billion in watershed protection programs—including partnership organizations such as the Catskill Watershed Corporation and the Watershed Agricultural Council—that support sustainable farming practices, environmentally sensitive economic development, and local economic opportunity. In addition, DEP has a robust capital program with $20.1 billion in investments planned over the next decade that will create up to 3,000 construction-related jobs per year. For more information, visit nyc.gov/dep, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.