9/8/2020 What’s So Great About New York City Water?

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CITY LIVING, TECHNOLOGY, URBAN DESIGN

NYC Water 101: From the Catskill Aqueduct and

Robotic Measurements to Your Tap
POSTED ON THU, MARCH 31, 2016 BY MICHELLE COHEN

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New York City is the nation’s largest municipal water supplier. While many locals happily
choose tap water at restaurants and extol the virtues of New York’s wettest, we sometimes
wonder how and where the magic happens–even more so recently, in light of some other
cities’ far less stellar experiences with the local water supply. This recent New York Times
article clears things up, so to speak, on how 9.5 million people (and growing, apparently) can
keep the good stu owing.

The source: More than 90 percent of the city’s water supply comes from the
Catskill/Delaware watershed, about 125 miles north of NYC; the other 10 percent comes from
the Croton watershed. The watershed sits on over a million acres, both publicly and privately
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Point A to point B, slowly: The 92-mile Catskill Aqueduct beneath the Hudson River is a
century old. It can take up to a year for water to wind its way to the city from its origins in the
countryside, via a network of tunnels, dams and reservoirs, traveling by gravity alone. A $3.4
billion investment is planned over the next ve years to shore up “decaying infrastructure.”

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Kensico Reservoir

Robots and radiation: It sounds good so far, but how do we know what’s in there? That’s
where the robots come in. From the aqueducts, the water feeds into the Kensico Reservoir,
where “robotic buoys transmit information about water quality.” Chlorine (to disinfect) and
uoride (for dental health) are added here, and temperature, pH, nutrient and microbial
levels are monitored.

Last year, robotic buoys recorded 1.9 million measurements (actual human eld scientists
only collected a measly 15,500 samples) from upstate reservoirs, streams and aqueducts. It’s
all entered into a computer to crunch the data. Climate change–precipitation patterns, forest
health and water temperature–can e ect the water quality and availability as well.

The city’s water-to-be passes through the world’s largest ultraviolet disinfection facility in
Westchester County. Ultraviolet radiation was determined to be a safe, e ective
supplementary treatment as long as it’s evenly applied to water that is moving at constant
speed.

The $1.54 billion facility slows the water before it passes through “56 large containers that
hold ultraviolet lights encased in quartz tubes that zap stomach-ravaging micro-organisms.”
After the suntan, the water gets a cocktail of chlorine, phosphoric acid and sodium hydroxide
“to disinfect it and raise the pH levels to prevent pipes from corroding and releasing harmful
metals.” Like lead.

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City Water Tunnel No. 3, one of the largest capital projects in the city’s history; Images: NYC DEP

After a stop in the 900-million-gallon Hillview Reservoir, three main tunnels “act like drains
and whoosh water downhill.” The construction of the third tunnel is one of the
biggest capital projects in NYC history; by the 2020s the tunnel is expected to carry water
to all ve boroughs, freeing up tunnels one and two, built in 1917 and 1936, respectively, for
easier inspection.

A series of tubes (this one actually is): New York City’s water main system is a 6,800-mile
expanse of iron and steel pipes. The system costs $140 million annually to operate, which is
covered by water and sewer fees.

Image: NYC DEP

The water is regularly tested for contaminants, and though there are pipes that contain lead
in the system, they haven’t been a problem yet. According to the city’s Department of
Environmental Protection, all known lead-containing service lines to city properties like
schools, libraries and parks were replaced by 2010. Field scientists visit city sampling
stations daily to check on temperature and chemical levels.

Scientists also look for E. coli bacteria which could indicate sewage contamination and
Cryptosporidium and giardia, which cause stomach illnesses, and other bacteria. According
to the annual water quality report for 2015, New York met all state and federal chemical
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