New Croton Reservoir in Westchester, NY
In New York City, a section of the aqueduct that supplies about half of the city's water will be closed throughout the winter. The move is part of a $2 billion project to address massive spills in the lower Hudson River. While the city's taps will not be disconnected, the city will temporarily tap other water sources, which may cause the water to temporarily change its crisp, delicious flavor.
The smell is due to the design of the city's water system. The city's Catskill/Delaware Watershed, located in the Catskills, is the largest source of unfiltered water in the United States. Instead of passing through a filtration plant, New York's water passes through the natural filtration process of forests, swamps and soil before flowing to the city. The water meets all federal and state drinking water guidelines and does not require filtration.
However, clean, fresh water is not always available in New York.
In 1842, the pristine water town now taken for granted by residents and visitors first flowed into New York City from a northern reservoir. Today, a complex system of reservoirs, lakes, aqueducts, tunnels and water mains delivers approximately 1.3 billion gallons of water to nearly 9 million people every day.
In part, it was the city's ability to provide the people of New York with a reliable source of clean water that allowed it to grow and develop into a great urban center.
However, the city's first attempt to centralize water resources failed. In 1799, the New York State Legislature granted the Manhattan Company, led by Aaron Burr, the exclusive right to deliver water to New York City. Burr reportedly ignored plans to divert water from outside Manhattan and drilled more wells at the Collect Pond. The Collection Pond is a 48-acre spring-fed pond near Franklin and Pearl Streets in Lower Manhattan that has been home to a public well for decades. These wells have fallen out of favor because stone wells that rapidly tap groundwater can become contaminated by salt water from the Hudson River (a tidal estuary) and the East River (not a river at all but a strait). Connecting Long Island Sound to New York Bay, the lack of sewers allowed trash and human waste to pollute the water supply.
The Manhattan Company's water was stored in a new reservoir on Chambers Street and distributed through wooden pipes. It used its surplus funds to start a bank, which merged with Chase National Bank in 1955 to form Chase Manhattan Bank, the oldest of its predecessor institutions that eventually formed what is now JPMorgan Chase & Co.
(Photo: Acura Media Group)
