September 29, 2016

deppressoffice@dep.nyc.gov, (845) 334-7868

Department of Environmental Protection to Install Security Cameras at Ashokan Reservoir

Planned upgrade is part of an ongoing systemwide effort to ensure water supply security

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today announced that it will install security cameras along the dam and dikes at Ashokan Reservoir as part of a longstanding effort to bolster security at key spots within New York City’s water supply system. The department’s Bureau of Police & Security will oversee the installation of video cameras on poles that have already been installed along the reservoir. Similar cameras have been installed at other reservoirs, dams and treatment facilities to improve 24-hour monitoring and ensure the security of the water supply for 9.5 million New Yorkers.

One lane of the popular recreation path along Ashokan Reservoir’s dam and dikes will be closed periodically so that workers can safely install the cameras. That work is expected to begin early in October and finish by the end of the year.

The DEP Police Division was established more than 100 years ago. It’s more than 200 sworn officers are charged with protecting the City’s water supply system, which includes more than 2,000 square miles of watershed land across nine counties, hundreds of miles of tunnels and aqueducts, 14 wastewater treatment plants, laboratories, and chlorination facilities. DEP police patrol the watershed by foot, bicycle, all-terrain vehicle, motorcycle, boat and helicopter. They also maintain specially trained units that include a detective bureau, emergency service unit, canine unit and aviation unit.

DEP manages New York City’s water supply, providing more than one billion gallons of high quality water each day to more than 9.5 million New Yorkers. This includes more than 70 upstate communities and institutions in Ulster, Orange, Putnam and Westchester counties who consume an average of 110 million total gallons of drinking water daily from New York City’s water supply system. This water comes from the Catskill, Delaware, and Croton watersheds that extend more than 125 miles from the City, and the system comprises 19 reservoirs, three controlled lakes, and numerous tunnels and aqueducts. DEP has nearly 6,000 employees, including almost 1,000 scientists, engineers, surveyors, watershed maintainers and other professionals in the upstate watershed. In addition to its $70 million payroll and $157 million in annual taxes paid in upstate counties, DEP has invested more than $1.7 billion in watershed protection programs—including partnership organizations such as the Catskill Watershed Corporation and the Watershed Agricultural Council—that support sustainable farming practices, environmentally sensitive economic development, and local economic opportunity. In addition, DEP has a robust capital program with nearly $14 billion in investments planned over the next 10 years that will create up to 3,000 construction-related jobs per year. For more information, visit nyc.gov/dep, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.