Croton Water Filtration Plant

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Croton Water Filtration Plant
Alternative namesCroton Filtration Plant
EtymologyCroton River
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeWater treatment facility
LocationMosholu Golf Course, Van Cortlandt Park
Town or cityThe Bronx
CountryUS
Coordinates40°53′10″N 73°52′44″W / 40.886005°N 73.878808°W / 40.886005; -73.878808Coordinates: 40°53′10″N 73°52′44″W / 40.886005°N 73.878808°W / 40.886005; -73.878808
Named forCroton Watershed
Construction started2007
Completed2015
Cost$3.2 billion USD[1][2][3]
ClientNew York City Department of Parks and Recreation
OwnerCity of New York
ManagementNew York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP)
Grounds12 acres (4.9 ha)[1]
Design and construction
Architecture firm
  • below grade water treatment plant: Hazen and Sawyer and Metcalf and Eddy[4]
  • above grade: Grimshaw Architects[5]
DeveloperSkanska / Tully Construction joint venture[1]
Other designersEmerson Process Management[1]
Other information
Public transit accessNew York City Subway: Woodlawn
New York City Bus: local buses, BxM4 express buses
Bee-Line Bus System: 4, 20, and 21
The Sachkerah Woods Playground, located at Van Cortlandt Park's southeast corner

The Croton Water Filtration Plant, is a drinking water treatment facility in New York City which began operation in 2015. The plant construction cost was over $3 billion,[6][3] The facility was built 160 feet (49 m) under Van Cortlandt Park's Mosholu Golf Course in the Bronx.[7]

Background[]

The Croton plant was built after a lawsuit was filed in 1997 against the City of New York by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Justice and the State of New York.[8] Mayor Rudy Giuliani settled the suit on behalf of the city. A consent decree was issued with the condition that the city would build the plant by 2006.[9] The city had been studying possible sites for such a plant for more than 20 years in both the Bronx and nearby Westchester County. The plant was needed in order to filter contaminants from urban runoff pollution in the Croton River watershed and protect the public from Giardia and Cryptosporidium, microorganisms which can cause serious health problems.[2] The river supplies about ten percent of the New York City water system[9][10] and had been proposed for filtration for the past several decades.[11]

In the city's early plans, it considered that one of the Croton plant's additional benefits would be to reduce the city's dependence on its two other water sources, the Catskill Aqueduct and Delaware Aqueduct, which at the time were only minimally filtered.[12] Subsequently the city built the Catskill-Delaware Water Ultraviolet Disinfection Facility, which began operation in 2013.[13][14]

Design[]

Raw water is delivered to the filtration plant by the New Croton Aqueduct and the Jerome Park Reservoir.[2] The Croton plant has a capacity of 320 million U.S. gallons (1.2 billion liters) per day and is designed to remove 99.9% of Giardia cysts, Cryptosporidium, and viruses. The system uses conventional drinking water treatment technologies:

  • Coagulation and flocculation, and chemical balancing
  • Dissolved air flotation and dual media filtration (activated coal and sand)
  • Ultraviolet and chlorine disinfection
  • Corrosion control (orthophosphate)
  • Fluoridation.[1]

Project delays, costs and completion[]

The filtration plant was originally projected to cost $800 million,[3] but the project experienced delays and ballooning costs due to objections from the local community,[7] which required the city to propose alternate sites for such a plant.[12]

To lessen the disruption caused by the plant's construction, in 2010 the city used mitigation funds from the construction of the plant to restore the Van Cortlandt Park Parade Ground.[15][16] The Sachkerah Woods Playground, located at the park's southeast corner near the Mosholu Golf Course, was also built using Croton mitigation funds.[17] The new plant allowed the city to provide greater capacity for its water system.[6] This was especially important since the city was planning to shut off part of the Delaware Aqueduct in 2022 or 2023,[6] allowing the completion of a tunnel that would bypass a leaking section of the aqueduct in Newburgh, New York.[18]

In May 2015 the New York City Department of Environmental Protection announced that the Croton filtration plant had been recently activated. The final project cost was $3.2 billion.[2] The 830 by 550 feet (250 by 170 m) plant is larger than Yankee Stadium.[6]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Croton Water Filtration Plant". Water Technology. New York: Verdict Media Ltd. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  2. ^ a b c d "Croton Water Filtration Plant Activated". New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP). May 8, 2015. Press release.
  3. ^ a b c Nessen, Stephen (June 17, 2015). "Nearly 30 Years and $3.5 Billion Later, NYC Gets Its First Filtration Plant". WNYC Radio.
  4. ^ Gonchar, Joann (March 1, 2016). "Croton Water Filtration Plant". Architectural Record. BNP Media.
  5. ^ "Croton Water Filtration Plant - ASLA-NY". American Society of Landscape Architects, New York Chapter. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d Dunlap, David W. (May 8, 2015). "As a Plant Nears Completion, Croton Water Flows Again to New York City". The New York Times.
  7. ^ a b Depalma, Anthony (March 25, 2004). "Water Hazard?; Plan to Put Filtration Plant Under Park Angers the Bronx". The New York Times.
  8. ^ "United States And State Of New York Announce Start Up Of Croton Water Filtration Plant In Compliance With Mandates Of Federal Consent Decree". U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York. 2015-05-08. Press release.
  9. ^ a b Rohde, David (May 20, 1998). "Pressed by U.S., City Hall Agrees To Build a Plant to Filter Water". The New York Times.
  10. ^ Historical Perspectives, Inc. (October 30, 1998). "Cultural Resource Assessment: Proposed Croton Water Treatment Plant Mosholu Site, Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx County, New York" (PDF). NYCDEP. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
  11. ^ Jackson 2010, p. 1385.
  12. ^ a b Martin, Douglas (December 2, 1998). "Filtration Plant Is Placed Within Van Cortlandt Park". The New York Times. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  13. ^ "Turning on the Zap: New York City Readies World's Largest UV Drinking-Water Disinfection Plant". Scientific American. August 31, 2012.
  14. ^ "NYC Catskill-Delaware UV Facility Opening Ceremony". London, ON: Trojan Technologies. Archived from the original on 2015-06-13.
  15. ^ New York City Parks Department 2014, p. 12.
  16. ^ "Groundbreaking Ceremony for Renovation Of Van Cortlandt Park's Parade Ground". home2.nyc.gov. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  17. ^ "Sachkerah Woods Playground: July 2007 Park of the Month : NYC Parks". Van Cortlandt Park Highlights. June 28, 2007. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  18. ^ Dunlap, David W. (November 19, 2014). "Crews at Work Replacing Section of Delaware Aqueduct". The New York Times.

Sources[]

External links[]

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