Design and Construction Report staff writer
Parsons Corporation has been selected by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection to provide construction management services for a major wastewater infrastructure project aimed at reducing untreated sewer discharges into local waterways.
The company will serve as part of Newtown Creek CSO Partners, a joint venture with AECOM and EPC Consultants Inc., supporting delivery of the Newtown Creek Combined Sewer Overflow Storage Tunnel program.The 16-year initiative is one of the largest wastewater infrastructure investments undertaken by New York City, targeting long-standing environmental challenges in Brooklyn and Queens by capturing and storing excess combined sewer flows during heavy rain events.
Click this link to see a presentation about the project.
The project includes approximately 3.25 miles of large-diameter underground storage tunnel, along with a dewatering pump station and related infrastructure designed to reduce combined sewer overflows into Newtown Creek and surrounding waterways.
“Parsons brings decades of experience delivering complex tunnel and water infrastructure programs that improve environmental outcomes and strengthen community resilience,” said Mark Fialkowski, president, Infrastructure North America for Parsons. “We are proud to support New York City on this critical project that will reduce sewer overflows, enhance water quality, and help meet important regulatory commitments.”
As construction manager, Parsons will oversee delivery of the tunnel and associated structures and will use the New York City Department of Environmental Protection’s Construction Management Information System (CMIS), a platform the company originally helped develop and deploy, to support project coordination, scheduling and oversight.
City officials say the Newtown Creek project is critical to improving water quality and protecting public health in surrounding communities. Once completed, the system is expected to significantly reduce the frequency and volume of combined sewer overflows during storm events, a long-standing issue in the industrial waterway.
Parsons noted that its involvement builds on decades of work in New York City’s water infrastructure system. The company has previously supported major Department of Environmental Protection tunnel and aqueduct projects, including work on the Rondout–West Branch Bypass Tunnel, Kensico–Eastview Connection Tunnel, and Catskill Aqueduct repair and rehabilitation programs.
With more than 80 years of experience and over 250 tunnel and ocean outfall projects globally, Parsons said it has worked across a range of challenging geotechnical conditions, including dense urban environments such as New York City.
The Newtown Creek CSO tunnel is intended to improve long-term environmental performance of the city’s wastewater system while helping meet regulatory commitments tied to water quality improvements in local waterways.
