How KSB ensured water supply in New York
3 min read

How KSB ensured water supply in New York

New York’s most important drinking water tunnel had to be emptied for repairs - quickly and reliably. KSB supplied five of the most powerful submersible motor pump sets ever produced by KSB.

New York’s most important drinking water tunnel had to be emptied for repairs - quickly and reliably. KSB supplied five of the most powerful submersible motor pump sets ever produced by KSB.

The project:

Supplying New York with drinking water

New York, a city with millions of inhabitants, needs huge amounts of clean drinking water around the clock. More than half of this water is transported to the city via the Rondout-West Branch Tunnel of the Delaware Aqueduct.


This 71-kilometre tunnel has a natural gradient which allows around 37 cubic metres of fresh water to be conveyed to the city every second.


To secure New York’s drinking water supply for the coming years, the tunnel had to be rehabilitated.

The challenge:

Securing water supply in New York

This rehabilitation, of course, needed to be done as quickly as possible to minimise the time during which the tunnel’s downtime had to be compensated for by other inflow channels.


Pumping the tunnel empty as quickly as possible demanded extremely powerful pumps, and these also had to be very reliable to minimise the risk of failure.

The solution:

Submersible pumps for the Delaware Aqueduct Tunnel

KSB installed five of the most powerful single-entry submersible borehole pump sets ever produced by KSB. The output of each pump is around 2,000 cubic metres an hour at a maximum rated head of 320 metres. The drives employed are 4-pole electric motors with a supply voltage of 4,160 volts.

Doing so ensured that the New York City water supply tunnel could be emptied in the shortest amount of time, and repairs could begin.

Data | Facts | Figures

Location: Delaware Aqueduct Tunnel, New York City


Medium: Water


Used products

5 x BSFi 586/5 + EMD NQ 200-416 with special plugged cable connections, suction shroud, and an inducer to meet lowest NPSH requirements

Used products

UPA Control

UPA Control

The KSB switchgear is suitable for level control and protection of submersible borehole pumps, submersible motor pumps and dry-installed pumps with single-phase AC motors 1~ 230 V or three-phase motors 3~ 230 / 400 V / 50 Hz. The motor is started DOL. Enclosure: IP56, dimensions: 205 × 255 × 170 mm (H × W × D).

UPA 200 / UPA S 200

UPA 200 / UPA S 200

Single-stage or multistage single-entry centrifugal pump in ring-section design for vertical or horizontal installation. Optionally available with lift check valve or connection branch. For well diameters of 8 inches and above.

UPA 250 / UPA S 250

UPA 250 / UPA S 250

Single-stage or multistage single-entry centrifugal pump in ring-section design for vertical or horizontal installation. Mixed flow hydraulic systems with impellers that can be turned down. Optionally available with lift check valve or connection branch. For well diameters of 10 inches and above.

UPA 300 / UPA S 300

UPA 300 / UPA S 300

Single-stage or multistage single-entry centrifugal pump in ring-section design for vertical or horizontal installation. Mixed flow hydraulic systems with trimmable impellers. Optionally available with lift check valve or connection branch. For well diameters of 12 inches and above.

UPA 350 / UPA S 350

UPA 350 / UPA S 350

Single-stage or multistage single-entry centrifugal pump in ring-section design for vertical or horizontal installation. Mixed flow hydraulic systems with impellers that can be turned down. Optionally available with lift check valve or connection branch. For well diameters of 14 inches and above.

UPA C 100

UPA C 100

Multistage centrifugal pump in ring-section design made of stainless steel for well diameters of 100 mm (4 inches) and above, available with single-phase AC motor or three-phase motor with motor lead.

UPA C 150

UPA C 150

All-stainless steel single-stage or multistage centrifugal pump in ring-section design, suitable for vertical or horizontal installation, for well diameters of 150 mm (6 inches) and above.

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Stay up to date with the KSB Newsletter.

Want to make sure you never miss the latest news? With the KSB Newsletter you will receive information on our products and solutions, current promotions and events as well as fascinating insights into the world of KSB.