Kingston Water Department officials say that they have no plans to activate a recently completed pipeline from New York City’s Ashokan Reservoir to Kingston’s own water system.

Instead, Water Superintendent Matthew Dysard said, the temporary pipeline would remain in place over the winter while officials evaluate the impact of an ongoing dam reconstruction project on water levels in Kingston’s primary water source, the Cooper Lake reservoir.

The $1.2 million project began in August when a combination of dry conditions and the construction project, which lowered the water at Cooper Lake by 10 feet, left water levels there perilously low. The pipeline was intended to transport water 16,000 feet from the lower basin of the Ashokan to a Kingston Water Department backup reservoir on Zena Road. Crews from contractor Thalie Construction were wrapping up work on the pipeline earlier this month when the city’s Board of Water Commissioners voted to end the water emergency imposed in August, in light of water levels at Cooper Lake returning to near-full capacity.

“At this point in time there is no need to move forward with activation, due to the elevations at Cooper Lake Reservoir rising back to full construction levels,” wrote Dysard in an email to Kingston Wire. “The pipeline will remain in place through the winter and then be reevaluated.”

The $20 million dam reconstruction effort got underway last year and is the largest capital plan ever undertaken by the Kingston Water Department. The cost to department customers, which former water superintendent Judith Hansen warned could increase water bills by as much as 20 percent was offset by a $3 million grant by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

The project was mandated by DEC to comply with new dam safety regulations promulgated in 2009. In addition to rebuilding the dam, the project, due to be completed next summer, will replace an intake tower and piping and lay the groundwork for raising the reservoir’s capacity in the future. Water Department officials anticipated potential issues stemming from the temporary reduction in holding capacity; the cost of the temporary pipeline was included in the original bid for the project, Dysard said.

The connection to the Ashokan was one of several actions taken by the Water Department over the summer as water levels in Cooper Lake began to fall. The department ended the sale of about 600,000 gallons a day to the Town of Ulster and reversed the flow at a pump station to allow the city to access about 100,000 gallons per day from the town’s own water system. The department also activated a backup reservoir near its water treatment plant on Sawkill Road and imposed mandatory water use restrictions on residential and commercial customers.