Kingston completes reservoir project
KINGSTON — The city announced it had completed a twoyear project to restore a dam on Cooper Lake, the reservoir Kingston draws its water from, Mayor Steven Noble and the Board of Water Commissioners announced this week.
The Cooper Lake Dam project, which was done under a Project Labor Agreement and was estimated to cost $20 million, is now expected to be under budget at $18 million, according to a news release from the mayor’s office. The improvements bring the dam into compliance with updated state Department of Environmental Conservation regulations, including a new water supply intake tower, new outlet works, new metering chamber and controls, a new spillway and energy dissipation structure, raising and flattening of the slope of the main dam, and leveling the 1,500-foot west dike.
“We are proud of our pristine water and, with these improvements, have undertaken the costliest capital project in the Kingston Water Department’s history in order to keep our water at the highest quality for our residents,” Noble said in a prepared statement.
Kingston’s water originates in the Catskills in the Mink Hollow stream, from which it is piped into Cooper Lake, in the town of Woodstock. Concerns with the lake’s dam go back to at least 2007, when displaced manholes were observed at its toe. Work began in 2021 and was performed by Schnabel Engineering and Thalle Construction.
To complete the repairs, it was necessary to lower the lake’s level by 10 feet, which prompted the city to declare a drought emergency in the summer of 2022, enacting mandatory water restrictions for individuals and businesses that use city water, for fears that there was not enough water in the reservoir to meet regular needs.
Kingston has been on a lowerlevel drought alert almost continuously since the water level was lowered. With the completion of the project and lower water levels during construction no longer necessary, the reservoir level will be increased to full capacity and the drought alert has ended, city officials said in their news release.
“The completion of this project marks a major achievement for the department,” Water Department Superintendent Matt Dysard said in a statement. “The improved infrastructure is significant for our goal of ensuring the continued supply of high-quality water to the residents of Kingston.”
He credited Schnabel Engineering and Thalle Construction for their efforts in the design and construction.
The project was the most expensive capital improvement project in the Water Department’s history, according to Water Board President Dennis Croswell.
But it got some financial assistance in the form of grant funding: Kingston was awarded a $3 million Water Infrastructure and Improvement Act grant for the project in April 2022, and the work was the first project in New York to receive Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund funding for dam/ reservoir rehabilitation under the Environmental Protection Agency’s Class Exception.
The project was also awarded $100,000 through the FEMA High Hazard Potential Dam grant.