The City of Newburgh announced on May 18 that its North Interceptor Sewer Project has received a 2026 Engineering Excellence Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of New York, recognizing achievement in engineering design and infrastructure improvement.
This recognition highlights the importance of clean water infrastructure projects and their role in improving water quality for communities. The award draws attention to efforts aimed at reducing combined sewer overflows into the Hudson River.
According to the city, the project was designed by Arcadis of New York, Inc. in partnership with municipal officials. It increased the capacity of nearly two miles of interceptor sewer, improved collection and treatment during wet weather events, and advanced compliance with a federally approved Long Term CSO Control Plan. The installation included approximately 8,600 linear feet of new interceptor sewer through riverfront and historic districts using microtunneling techniques intended to reduce disruptions for residents and speed up completion. The old interceptor sewer was removed or abandoned, and full streetscape restoration was completed within historic district areas.
The city reported that it worked with federal and state agencies to secure grants and low-interest financing for this $32 million capital project, minimizing costs for taxpayers. Significant engineering challenges were overcome during construction such as building a new alignment deep underground through solid rock, maintaining uninterrupted flow to the wastewater treatment plant via temporary tie-ins and bypass pumping, coordinating work on CSX railroad property, relocating utilities, and adapting quickly when unknown site conditions were encountered.
“The City of Newburgh thanks ACEC New York for this award, Arcadis of New York, Inc. for its engineering excellence, and all federal, state, railroad, construction and project partners who helped bring this critical clean water infrastructure project to completion,” said city officials in a statement.
