The final repair of the Delaware Aqueduct, which carries about half of New York City's drinking water, is now planned for a six- to nine-month shutdown in 2031 to 2032, a Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) official told a public meeting on August 6, 2026. The shutdown was first set for October 2024.
Why the date moved
The 85-mile aqueduct was taken out of service in October 2024 to join a 2.5-mile bypass tunnel under the Hudson River. DEP paused the work in November 2024 because of drought. In May 2025 it said the pause had ended the construction contract and that it would re-procure. The official said a new contract will be bid in 2029; DEP has not yet published these dates in a release.
The leaks stay in service
The aqueduct typically carries about 600 million gallons a day. DEP has put its leaks at up to 35 million gallons a day, about 5.8% of that flow, while a local newspaper reported 20 million gallons a day in August 2026. The repair program is valued at about US$2 billion.
A second tunnel on a 2035 deadline
The Kensico-Eastview Connection, DEP's other large supply tunnel, is required by a consent decree entered on May 15, 2019. Its main tunnel contract went to Frontier-Kemper Constructors for about US$1.1 billion in October 2024. The City's Capital Projects Dashboard showed a budget of US$2.65 billion in May 2026, against the US$1.9 billion DEP cited in 2024, with the last sub-project forecast for April 1, 2035.
The report sets both tunnels within the whole system: reservoir storage and demand since FY 2016, the bodies that set DEP's obligations, network and billing performance, and the capital program and rates through FY 2030. The full report, Water Systems Overview: New York City Department of Environmental Protection, is available for USD 499 at https://ourfuturewaterintelligence.com/reports/water-systems-overview-new-york-city-department-of-environmental-protection. For a free overview, read the New York City Department of Environmental Protection Utility Snapshot at https://ourfuturewaterintelligence.com/utilities/new-york-city-department-of-environmental-protection.