City to Begin $14 Million Upgrade of Water Delivery System in Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Richmond Hill and Far Rockaway

Project Will Improve Water Quality, Pressure, and Distribution in These Neighborhoods

The New York City Departments of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Design and Construction (DDC) recently announced a project that will replace aging water mains and improve the distribution system and water quality in Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Richmond Hill, and Far Rockaway, Queens. The majority of the unlined cast iron water mains in these neighborhoods are more than 60 years old. The $14 million infrastructure upgrade, funded by DEP and managed by DDC, will begin in March 2013 and include the installation of nearly 13 miles of new ductile iron water mains. The work will be done in phases with the full project expected to be completed in 2015.

"Public health and the future growth of New York City are contingent on having an adequate supply of high quality water and over the last decade we have invested $10.5 billion to upgrade our water supply and distribution systems," said DEP Commissioner Carter Strickland. "By installing nearly 13 miles of new water mains we will ensure adequate water pressure for firefighting, basic sanitation, and clean drinking water for these Queens neighborhoods for decades to come."

"Starting this spring, we will install almost 13 miles of new water mains to improve water delivery and quality for thousands of Queens residents. This will be a significant upgrade for the area's water system, which is many decades old. We look forward to continuing to work with DEP to complete this and other vital infrastructure improvements for the borough," said David Burney, Commissioner of the Department of Design and Construction.

New water mains will be installed on:

• Union Turnpike between 164^th Street and Utopia Parkway
• Queens Boulevard between 69^th Avenue and Union Turnpike
• Queens Boulevard between 68^th Drive and 76^th Road
• Queens Boulevard between 76^th Road and Union Turnpike
• Kew Garden Road between Union Turnpike and 80^th Road
• 76^th Road between Queens Boulevard and Grand Central Parkway
• Edgerton Boulevard between Grand Central Parkway and Croydon Road
• 85^th Avenue between 115^th Street and Babbage Street
• Park Lane South between 107^th Street and Myrtle Avenue
• Myrtle Avenue between Park Lane South and 111^th Street
• 85^th Avenue between Myrtle Avenue and Metropolitan Avenue
• Metropolitan Avenue between 85^th Avenue and Hillside Avenue
• Hillside Avenue between Metropolitan Avenue and the Van Wyck Expressway
• 123^rd Street between Metropolitan Avenue and Jamaica Avenue
• 130^th Street between Hillside Avenue and Jamaica Avenue
• Hillside Avenue between Kew Garden Road and the Van Wyck Expressway
• 111^th Street between 101^st Avenue and Atlantic Avenue
• 111^th Street between Jamaica Avenue and Atlantic Avenue
• Jamaica Avenue Between 107^th Street and 111^th Street
• 108^th Street between Jamaica Avenue and Atlantic Avenue
• 109^th Street between Jamaica Avenue and Atlantic Avenue
• 110^th Street between Jamaica Avenue and Atlantic Avenue
• 91st Avenue between 107^th Street and 111^th Street
• Beach 9^th Street between Central Avenue and Empire Avenue
• Dinsmore Avenue between Beach 9^th Street and Beach 12^th Street
• Beach 12^th Street between Central Avenue and Dinsmore Avenue
• Neilsen Street between Central Avenue and Dinsmore Avenue
• Channing Road between Neilsen Street and Beach 9^th Street
• Bolton Road between Beach 9^th Street and Sage Street
• 134^th Street between 91^st Avenue and Jamaica Avenue
• 91^st Avenue between 134^th Street and Van Wyck Expressway State Road West
• 89^th Avenue between 134^th Avenue and Van Wyck Expressway State Road West
• 135^th Street between 89^th Avenue and 91^st Avenue

The work includes the replacement of 20 inch, 12 inch and 8 inch diameter water mains that serve residential and commercial properties. The new distribution system will also replace dead ends with looped mains and thereby improve water quality by ensuring that it is always moving.

This capital infrastructure upgrade is one of 217 similar projects in Queens that are either under construction now or are in the planning and design phase. Investing in water distribution and sewer infrastructure is a central part of DEP's upcoming capital plan. In Queens, the DEP Executive Budget includes $921 million of capital investments from Fiscal Year 2012-21.

DEP manages New York City's water supply, providing more than one billion gallons of water each day to more than nine million residents, including eight million in New York City. The water is delivered from a watershed that extends more than 125 miles from the city, comprising 19 reservoirs, and three controlled lakes. Approximately 7,000 miles of water mains, tunnels, and aqueducts bring water to homes and businesses throughout the five boroughs, and 7,500 miles of sewer lines and 96 pump stations take wastewater to 14 in-city treatment plants. DEP has nearly 6,000 employees, including nearly 1,000 in the upstate watershed. For more information, visit www.nyc.gov/dep, like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nycwater, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/nycwater.