Roosevelt Island Residents Ask Why NYC Department Of Environmental Protection Shutting Down Water In Riverwalk Buildings Today and Friday - The Answer Is Cornell Tech Construction Site Temporary Hydrant Removal

Residents of Roosevelt Island's Southtown Riverwalk Buildings



received notice from Related Rentals

that their water was scheduled to be shut down for a few hours today and Friday. According to a message sent to residents by Related Rentals last Monday:

We received notification from the Department of Environmental Protection this afternoon of a planned water shut down for testing at two scheduled times this week affecting all nearby buildings. Your awareness and understanding throughout the repair process will be greatly appreciated.

On Wednesday, October 26, water will be shut off from 9:00am through 1:00pm for approximately 4 hours.

On Friday, October 28, water will be shut off from 9:00am through 12:00pm for approximately 3 hours.

In order to prepare for this outage, we suggest the following:

• Fill containers with water to provide for your needs
• Close all faucets.
• Plan necessary clothes washing and showers ahead of time.

Reminder and update notices will be posted in the building ahead of the water disruptions.

Unfortunately this interruption is out of our hands and is caused by work being performed by the DEP. We thank you in advance for your understanding and cooperation and apologize for the inconvenience this may cause.

Several residents were concerned about why the NYC Department of Environmental Protection would be shutting down the water for Riverwalk Buildings and asked:

Do you happen to know why the DEP is testing the water on Roosevelt Island? I'm getting nervous since my kids drink a lot of water :-).

Also:

We just found out ... that there will be no water in any of the RW buildings tomorrow 9-12- not 405, 480, etc. etc.- that whole section of the island. Supposedly EPA is checking something about the water tomorrow and Fri. If you have any more information about it please let me know thank you!

I asked Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) President Susan Rosenthal yesterday:

The water is being shut off in Southtown Riverwalk buildings tomorrow morning.

I'm told that DEP is checking water quality in Roosevelt Island and I have been receiving emails from residents who are concerned about the water.

Does RIOC know what is going on with the water shut off? Any reason to be concerned about water quality?

RIOC Vice President of Operations Shelton Haynes replied:

It is our understanding that DEP has conducted testing today from 9am to 1pm and have an actual shutdown scheduled for Friday from 9am to 12pm. The purpose of the Test Shutdown is to confirm the functionality of the valves (x2) that will be closed during the actual shutdown on Friday. This is all in relation a temporary hydrant being removed (on Friday 11-4) within the Cornell Tech job site. We hope this was helpful.