By Ivan Pereira
Thursday, September 1, 2011
The city Department of Environmental Protection is looking for engineers and designers to find a way to tap into the groundwater under southeast Queens as it deals with fixing a problem with one of its upstate aqueducts, but an elected official in the neighborhood wants the agency to get to work fast.
The agency issued a request for proposals last week to develop designs as part of its Water for the Future Program. DEP Commissioner Carter Strickland said he has issued the RFP to 34 pre-qualified groups that will be in the running to conduct construction, reconstruction and improvements to the groundwater pumping systems in areas such as St. Albans and Jamaica, which have not been in operation for 15 years.
Those water systems will be needed in the near future as the DEP prepares to make repairs to one of its most-active aqueducts that brings water from upstate reservoirs.
“As part of our Water for the Future Program, this request for proposals is another step toward developing vital backup systems for our water network. With the option of cost-effective groundwater and other supplemental water supply sources, there will be sufficient clean and safe drinking water during and after the repair of the Delaware Aqueduct,” Strickland said in a statement.
The 85-mile Delaware Aqueduct accounts for half of the city’s water supply and has been in operation for 67 years, but engineers found a section located upstate was leaking 15 to 35 million gallons of water a day. DEP officials are planning to construct a bypass to solve the problem and construction is slated to begin in 2019.
During that time, the agency will be looking for alternative ways to provide the city with freshwater and it said the southeast Queens watershed would fit the bill.
The groundwater would be able to provide 67 million gallons of water a day if used, but it will take a lot of work for that to be feasible, according to Strickland.
There are of 68 supply wells at 44 well stations that used to be connected to the groundwater as part of the defunct Jamaica Water Supply Co., but they were shut down in 1996 after it was discovered the water was contaminated and the pumping machinery was outdated.
As part of the RFP, the companies will have to come up with new wells and infrastructure to properly distribute the groundwater, according to Strickland. The Queens work would begin in 2015, according to a DEP spokesman.
State Assemblyman William Scarborough (D-St. Albans) said he was happy the DEP is looking to restart the pumps, but he was not thrilled with its timeline. Southeast Queens experiences heavy flooding during rainstorms because the lack of pumping has led to a higher water table.
Scarborough has spoken about this issue with DEP for years and he said the agency is fully aware it is a growing problem that needs immediate attention.
“I’m glad they are starting the process, but they should start the process with the goal to expedite [it] as soon as possible.” he said.
