NYC Drinking Water Could Taste Different During Aqueduct Repair

NEW YORK CITY — The city's drinking water may taste different beginning this week as officials work to address leaks at an upstate aqueduct.

As part of a $2 billion project, an 85-mile-long stretch of the Delaware Aqueduct will be shut down for months to repair leaks located near the Hudson River in Newburgh, Department of Environmental Protection officials said.

The city during the fix will be relying on the Croton Watershed for its water. Water will be rerouted through a 2.5-mile-long bypass tunnel as workers repair the leak.

The aqueduct has been leaking up to 35 million gallons of water a day, officials said.

Mayor Eric Adams said during a press conference Monday that the drinking water is safe to drink.

"New Yorkers should know that your water is going to taste a little, slightly different. Some of you are not going to pick it up, but you will. But it is still drinking safe," he added.

Adams even took a drink of the water, saying he couldn't notice the difference in taste.

"You're not going to be able to detect it. Some New Yorkers will, but it's still perfectly safe, good water," he said during the press conference.

Rohit Aggarwala, Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner, said: "It's taken us 20 years to plan for this project because the scale of this project is so massive. But I want to assure New Yorkers that we are ready for this, and we have planned for every scenario. We have ample water reserves to last us the duration of the project. We're doing this project over the winter because we as a city use less water during the winter than we do during the summer."