You might not have ever heard of it before, but Staten Island has a water tunnel which provides backup drinking water to the borough, and it’s about to be replaced.
The new siphon will ensure a backup water supply to Staten Island and will facilitate the City’s ability to benefit from anticipated increases in cargo volumes in the Port of New York and New Jersey.
Plans are under way for a new steeper siphon, a tunnel which can provide up to 150 million gallons of water a day to Staten Islanders as early as next spring. The $2 billion project, in conjunction with the Port Authority, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Department of Environmental Protection, will utilize a 110-ton drill to remove 200 cubic yards of dirt per day during drilling.
The final project will dismantle the older siphons and replace the former with a larger tunnel that features a six-foot diameter water main and a 12-foot diameter concrete tunnel.
You can learn more about the project, here.
