Environmental Protection Commissioner Carter Strickland has released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for DEP's Water for the Future, a $2.1 billion initiative to maintain and ensure New York City's drinking water for the coming years.

At 85 miles long, the Delaware Aqueduct is the world's longest continuous underground tunnel.The program has two main elements: repairing leaks in the Delaware Aqueduct -- which supplies roughly half of the city's daily drinking water needs -- and supplementing the city's water supply during construction work on the tunnel.

In November 2010, DEP outlined a design and timeline to address leaks in the Delaware Aqueduct by building a two-and-a-half mile bypass tunnel around a portion of the aqueduct that is leaking in the Roseton area of the Town of Newburgh, and repairing leaks in the Town of Wawarsing from inside the existing tunnel.

Under the plan, DEP will break ground on the bypass tunnel in 2013, and complete the connection to the Delaware Aqueduct in 2021.DEP will accept written comments through Friday, February 17, 2012. The public also can comment on the DEIS at upcoming hearings, listed below:

January 23, 2012
Town of Newburgh
7:00 - 9:00 PM
Town of Newburgh Town Hall
1496 Route 300, Newburgh, NY 12550
(snow date January 30, 2012)

January 24, 2012
Town of Wappinger
7:00 - 9:00 PM
Wappingers Junior High School
30 Major McDonald Way
Wappingers Falls, NY 12590
(snow date January 31, 2012)

January 25, 2012
6:00 - 9:00 PM
Wawarsing Town Hall
108 Canal Street
Ellenville, NY 12428
(snow date February 1, 2012)