1. Thirsty City: A History of Water for New York City
Manohar Patole
Wagner Graduate School of Public Service New York University
November 5, 2015

2. Courtesy of National Geographic (http://ngm. nationalgeographic

3. Presentation Outline Introductions History Current System Conclusions
Question and Answers

4. Introductions Education Research Interests UNESCO-IHE/UoD NYU Wagner
WATSAN for Urban Poor in LEDC
Transboundary Water Governance
Water for Agriculture
History of New York Water

5. History Why History Important? Upstream/Downstream conflicts not new
From Damming to Development
Water system expansion reaction to growth
ex: 1890 (pop ~1.5million) to 1900 (~3.4million)
Age of infrastructure/Cost of Rehabilitation
Public Health/Water Supply connection
Cholera to E.Coli to Legionella

6. History Geology Geology has influenced the development of NYC
Built on three strata:
Manhattan Schist
Inwood Marble
Fordham Gneiss
Three major ancient fault lines:
Mosholu Fault in Van Cortlandt Park
125th Street and Dyckman Street Faults in Upper Manhattan

7. History Dutch New York Hudson’s and Dutch East India in 1609
Incorporated as New Amsterdam in 1653
First public well dug 1666 in front of Bowling Green
Second public, first stone-lined in 1671 at City Hall
Collect Pond used for public water supply
Up to 70ft deep, providing water through 1800’s
Function of Mica Schist descent from Village to Chambers
“Traded” for Suriname in 1674

8. History British New York More people, more water
First systematic public well-digging starts around 1677
Who was responsible for construction and financing?
Doesn’t finish until 1688 with 8 wells
Only served private citizens
Primarily used for???

9. History British New York
Next century experiences strain on the quasi-private water distribution systems
Overpumping
Poor sanitation
Increased Pollution
Pandemics of Cholera and Yellow Fever

10. History British New York Christopher Colles
Prolific Irish engineer
NYC is better than London, Paris, Boston and Philadephia
Limited potential because of water
1774 Proposed the first public water distribution system
Series of wells
Steam engine to power pump
Storage and distribution
Legacy leads NY Board of Health (1792)
Project delayed… why?

11. History 2 5 4 1 6 7 10 9 12 11 13 8 3 Sherman’s Creek
Courtesy of NYPL (Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library. (1909) The island of Manhattan (Mannahtin) at the time of its discovery showing its elevations, water-courses, marshes, and shore line)
Sherman’s Creek
Harlem Creek (Morningside Heights to Harlem/East River)
Saw Kill (CP North/74th Street)
Turtle Bay (UN Harbor)
Sun Fish Pond (Park & 31st to Kips Bay/Times Square)
Cedar Creek (Madison Sq/18th Street)
Great Kill (Western 42nd)
Minetta Water (Union Square to Greenwich)
Lispenard Meadows
Collect Pond (Chambers and Canal St)
Beekman Swamp (Brooklyn Bridge)
Smit’s Vly (Broadway/Maiden Lane)
Heere Grachts (Broad Street)

12. History Chart courtesy Jules Schorzman

13. History American New York
Colles project details lost, have to start over
Water distibution allows for first Fire Department (1830)
Impounding Croton River begins 1837
“Superstorm”!
Why 50 years?
Aqueduct used until the 1950’s
Project delayed AGAIN!

14. History

15. History

16. History American New York
Project resumes with expansion of system in 1873
New Croton Reservoir 1890
Westchester and Putnam Counties in NY State
9 miles long
Drainage basin of 57 mi2
19 billion gallons at full capacity
What happens in 1898?

17. History

18. History American New York Catskill System 1907-1928?
Board of Water Supply established 1905
Decides to develop region for water supply
Catskill System ?
Aqueduct completed in 1916
Esophus Creek, Ashokan Reservoir, Schoharie Reservoir, and Shandaken Tunnel

19. History American New York Delaware System 1937-1964
Approved in 1928 but delayed by an action brought by the State of New Jersey in the Supreme Court of the United States to enjoin the City and State of New York from using the waters of any Delaware River tributary.
In May 1931 the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the right of the City to augment its water supply from the headwaters of the Delaware River.

20. History American New York Delaware System 1937-1964
The Delaware Aqueduct in 1944
Rondout Reservoir in 1950
Neversink Reservoir in 1954
Pepacton Reservoir in 1955
Cannonsville Reservoir in 1964.

23. Current System of New York City
22 wastewater treatment plants (14 servicing just New York City)
6,500 miles (10,459km) of water mains, and 6,300 miles (10,137km) of sewers
19 reservoirs, 3 controlled lakes, 3 tunnels*
Tunnel 3?
No significant interruptions since 1842 (DEP 2015)

24. Current System of New York City
Over 8 million residents served
Does not include tourism or supply for other counties
3 separate systems (Croton, Catskill, Delaware) obtain water from some 2,000 square miles of watershed in upstate New York
3 systems can supply a maximum of 1,850 gal/day
NYC Residents use about 1,500 gal/day!
Approximately 95% total water supply delivery by gravity, except during drought conditions
Energy costs primarily related to treatment
One of six cities in USA exempt from filtration

26. Current Issues with NY Water
Croton Water filtration plant about $2.1 billion
Continued upstream/downstream conflicts
High physical losses up to 36 million gal/day
Tunnel 3 construction delayed until 2020
ASCE Infrastructure Report Card for NY State: C-
Drinking Water: C
Wastewater: D

27. Thank You
Questions?