New York Plans Water Tunnel Project

The US city of New York is to build a three-mile tunnel to divert water from a leaking aqueduct, which supplies half of the city’s drinking water.

Construction of the tunnel will begin in 2013 and be completed by 2019.

Under the project, a bypass tunnel will be constructed at depths of 600-800ft to run east from Newburgh in Orange County, under the Hudson River, to the Town of Wappinger in Dutchess County.

The aqueduct, which has been leaking 35 million gallons of water a day, will be sealed.

The US city plans to invest $1.2bn in the project and an additional $900m will be spent on projects to supplement the city’s water supply during the construction period, according to AP.