October 29, 2022

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today announced the completion of a $13.3 million project to stabilize and strengthen two sections of shoreline at Kensico Reservoir in Westchester County that were eroded by high winds during Hurricane Sandy. The project came in at more than $1 million under budget.

In 2012, the effect of Hurricane Sandy underscored the need to stabilize and strengthen portions of the shoreline at Kensico Reservoir against extreme storms in the future. The stabilization project focused on a total of 1,400 linear feet of shoreline at two locations near a water intake used to supply New York City’s drinking water. Eroding shorelines in those areas, especially during strong storm events, directly impacted water quality which must comply with regulations allowing the City to operate its water supply without filtration.

“With the impacts of climate change and increasingly common storms in our region we are quickly executing on lessons learned about the importance of sound investments hardening and improving the resiliency of our critical infrastructure,” said DEP Commissioner Rohit T. Aggarwala. “I am extremely proud of our department’s efforts both in the upstate watershed and throughout the City’s five boroughs to better prepare for and withstand extreme weather events such as what we saw with Superstorm Sandy.”

The Kensico shoreline stabilization project, originally budgeted for $14.4 million, included the removal of vegetation and soil along the impacted shoreline and armoring those areas with riprap, large rocks that are commonly installed to protect shorelines from scouring and erosion.

DEP manages New York City’s water supply, providing more than 1 billion gallons of high-quality water each day to more than 9.6 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.