What we can Learn from NYC’s Water System

Every day, over 1 billion gallons of water travels as far as 125 miles to reach New York City’s taps.

As the largest city in North America, New York needs lots of water. Lucky for us, the region is ideally situated downstream from 19 reservoirs that are fed by a vast 2,000-square mile watershed that spans the lush, heavily forested valleys of the Catskill Mountains to the rolling hills and lakes of Westchester County.
 
The Old Supply
 
10% of New York City’s water comes from 10 interconnected reservoirs that span Putnam, Dutchess, and Westchester counties, which lie between 25 – 50 miles north of New York City on the east side of the Hudson River. As the city’s first source of water, many of these reservoirs were created in the mid-1800s. By the early 1900s, engineers were forced to look farther north, on the far side of the Hudson in the pristine recesses of the Catskill Mountains, where the city now gets nearly all of its supply.
 
The Catskills
 
The vast majority of New York City’s water, 90%, comes from 6 reservoirs located within the 700,000 acres of Catskill Park. The first of the Catskill reservoirs, Ashokan, was created in 1910. It’s a testament to New York City’s desperate need for water that although thousands of acres of farmland and hundreds of buildings would have to be submerged, and over 2,000 residents relocated, the project went ahead anyways. Upon its completion, it was one of the largest reservoirs in the world. Today it remains the deepest of the state’s reservoirs at 190 feet.
 
Long Island’s Water Supply
 
Despite Long Island’s close proximity to New York City, it relies on a completely different water source: underground aquifers left behind by the melting glaciers. Hailed as the “most prolific” aquifers in the nation, the Upper Glacial Aquifer, the Magothy Aquifer, and the Lloyd Aquifer are stacked on top of one another, each one deeper than the next. Together, Long Island’s three aquifers provide millions of residents with 400 million gallons of groundwater every single day.
 
The Bottom Line? Conservation
 
The state of New York has a long and proud history of protecting and conserving its water supply. Environmentalists, public officials and engineers have all fought to protect the forested watersheds of the Catskills, and the effort has paid off. By protecting the health of naturally occurring waterways and allowing gravity to perform 95% of the work, the city has managed to supply a population of 9 million with fresh drinking water at a fraction of the cost and with much less work than many other U.S. cities. In Long Island, the Lloyd Aquifer, at 6,000-years old and 1,800-feet deep, is so prized that it is essentially off-limits—its waters being conserved for future generations.
 
Investigate Your Water
 
To learn the exact source of your water, who supplies it, if it’s polluted, and if there are any potential sources of contamination, use the EPA’s Drinking Water Mapping Application.