New York City water supply system

New York City's water supply system is one of the most extensive municipal water systems in the world. This complex system relies on a combination of tunnels, aqueducts and reservoirs to meet the daily needs of 8 million residents and many visitors. Thanks to well-protected wilderness watersheds, New York's water treatment process is simpler than in other American cities. One advantage of the system is that 95% of the total water supply is supplied by gravity. The other 5% needs to be pumped to maintain pressure, but this is sometimes increased in times of drought when the reservoirs are at lower than normal levels.^[1]

The city has sought to restrict development throughout its watershed. One of its largest watershed protection programs is the Land Acquisition Program, under which the New York City Department of Environmental Protection has purchased or protected through conservation easement over 70,000 acres (280 km²) since 1997.^[2]

Responsibility for water supply, sewerage and wastewater treatment

Responsibility for water supply, sewerage and wastewater treatment of New York City is shared between three institutions: The Department of Environmental Protection operates and maintains the system and is responsible for investment planning; the Municipal Water Finance Authority raises debt in the market to finance the system; and the Water Board sets rates and collects user payments.

New York City Department of Environmental Protection

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection has a workforce of over 5,600. It includes three bureaus in charge of, respectively, the upstate water supply system, the city's water and sewer operations, and wastewater treatment:

• The Bureau of Water Supply manages, operates and protects New York City's upstate water supply system to ensure the delivery of a sufficient quantity of high quality drinking water. The Bureau is also responsible for the overall management and implementation of the provisions of the city's $1.5 billion Watershed Protection Program.
• In addition to operating and maintaining the water supply and sewerage system, the Bureau of Water and Sewer Operations is also responsible for the operation of the Staten Island Bluebelt, an ecologically sound, cost-effective natural alternative to storm sewers, which occupies approximately 15 square miles (39 km²) of land in the South Richmond area of Staten Island. This project preserves streams, ponds and other wetland ("bluebelt") areas, allowing them to perform their natural function of conveying, storing and filtering storm water.
• The Bureau of Wastewater Treatment operates 14 water pollution control plants treating an average of 1.5 billion US gallons (5,700,000 m³) of wastewater a day; 89 wastewater pump stations; eight dewatering facilities; 490 sewer regulators; and 6,000 miles (9,700 km) of intercepting sewers.^[3]

New York City Municipal Water Finance Authority

The New York City Municipal Water Finance Authority (“NYW”) finances the capital needs of the water and sewer system of the city through the issuance of bonds, commercial paper and other obligations. It is a public-benefit corporation created in 1985 pursuant to the New York City Municipal Water Finance Authority Act. The Authority is administered by a seven-member Board of Directors. Four of the members are ex officio members: the Commissioner of Environmental Protection of the City, the Director of Management and Budget of the City, the Commissioner of Finance of the City and the Commissioner of Environmental Conservation of the State. The remaining three members are public appointments: two by the Mayor, and one by the Governor.^[4]

New York City Water Board

The New York City Water Board sets water and sewer rates for New York City sufficient to pay the costs of operating and financing the system, and collects user payments from customers for services provided by the water and wastewater utility systems of the City of New York. The five Board members are appointed to two-year terms by the Mayor.^[5]

Overview of infrastructure

The NYC water and sewer system consists of reservoirs, aqueducts, tunnels and distribution pipes that channel drinking water to residents. It also consists of sewers, pumping stations and wastewater treatment plants to collect and treat the city's wastewater.

Reservoirs and aqueducts

The NYC water system has storage capacity of 550 billion US gallons (2.1×10⁹ m³) and provides over 1.2 billion US gallons (4,500,000 m³) per day of drinking water to more than eight million city residents and another one million users in four upstate counties bordering on the water supply system. Three separate sub-systems, each consisting of reservoirs and aqueducts, bring water from Upstate New York to the city:

• The New Croton Aqueduct, completed in 1890, brings water from the New Croton Reservoir in Westchester and Putnam counties.
• The Catskill aqueduct, completed in 1916, is significantly larger than the Croton and brings water from two reservoirs in the eastern Catskill Mountains.
• The Delaware Aqueduct, completed in 1945 taps tributaries of the Delaware River in the western Catskill Mountains and provides around half of the city's water supply.^[6]

The latter two aqueducts provide 90% of the drinking water of the city. Water from both aqueducts is stored first in the large Kensico Reservoir and subsequently in the much smaller Hillview Reservoir closer to the city,

Tunnels and distribution system

From the Hillview reservoir water flows by gravity through three tunnels under the city, where water rises again to the surface under natural pressure through a number of shafts. The three tunnels are:

1. New York City Water Tunnel No. 1, completed in 1917. It runs from the Hillview Reservoir under the central Bronx, Harlem River, West Side, Midtown and Lower East Side of Manhattan, and under the East River to Brooklyn where it connects to Tunnel 2. It is expected to undergo extensive repairs upon completion of Tunnel No. 3 in 2012
2. New York City Water Tunnel No. 2, completed in 1935. It runs from Hillview Reservoir under the central Bronx, East River, and western Queens to Brooklyn where it connects to Tunnel 1 and the Richmond Tunnel to Staten Island. When completed, it was the longest large diameter water tunnel in the world.^[7]
3. New York City Water Tunnel No. 3 is the largest capital construction project in New York City's history (see below).^{[citation needed]}

The distribution system is made up of an extensive grid of water mains stretching approximately 6,500 miles (10,500 km).

Wastewater collection

The city's wastewater is collected through an equally extensive grid of sewer pipes of various sizes and stretching over 6,600 miles (10,600 km). Virtually all of the city's dry-weather wastewater is collected through this system.

Wastewater treatment

Wastewater is processed by one of 14 wastewater treatment plants located throughout the city's five boroughs. The plants currently treat about 1.3 billion US gallons (4,900,000 m³) of wastewater per day.^[4]

On-going repairs and upgrades

The Croton Water Filtration Plant Project

In order to comply with federal and state laws regarding the filtration and disinfection of drinking water, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the New York State Department of Health called on the city to create a treatment plan to serve the Croton System. The underground filtration plant is under construction in Van Cortlandt Park. While the Bloomberg administration originally budgeted the project at $992 million in 2003, an audit by the city's comptroller placed the actual costs at $2.1 billion in August 2009.^[8]

Delaware Aqueduct repair

The New York City water supply system leaks at a rate of up to 36 million US gallons (140,000 m³) per day. A complex five-year project with an estimated $240 million construction cost was initiated in November 2008 to correct some of this leakage in the Delaware Aqueduct. The work includes underwater diving teams of six divers who live in a 24-foot (7.3 m) pressurized tube that includes "showers, a television and a Nerf basketball hoop" in conditions designed to replicate those of their underwater work site. The divers breathe air that is 97.5% helium and 2.5% oxygen. The six divers descend 700 feet (210 m) to the work site where they work 12-hour shifts at a time. "When the divers aren't squeaking at one another in helium-speak, three of them use a diving bell to go 70 stories down, where they do things like strip out 4,000 lb (1,800 kg) bronze pipe fittings [in twelve-hour shifts divided up into four-hour demolition sessions and eight hours of rest]."^{[9] [10]}

Water tunnel No. 3

The construction of Water tunnel No. 3 is intended to provide the city with a critical third connection to its Upstate New York water supply system, allowing to close down tunnels No. 1 and No. 2 for repair in the first time of their history. The tunnel will eventually be more than 60 miles (97 km) long. Construction on the tunnel began in 1970, and its first phase is completed. Completion of all phases is not expected until at least 2020.^[11]

See also

• Environmental issues in New York City
• Integrated urban water management
• NYC DEP Police
• Water supply and sanitation in the United States

References

1. ^ "History of New York City's Water Supply System". New York City Department of Environmental Protection. http://nyc.gov/html/dep/html/drinking_water/history.shtml. Retrieved 2009-12-08. 
2. ^ DePalma, Anthony (July 20, 2006). "New York’s Water Supply May Need Filtering". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/20/nyregion/20water.html. Retrieved 2010-02-20. 
3. ^ "Bureaus and Offices". New York City Department of Environmental Protection. http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/about_dep/bureaus.shtml#WaterSupply. Retrieved 2010-07-10. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "About NYW". New York City Municipal Water Finance Authority. http://www.nyc.gov/html/nyw/html/aboutus.html. Retrieved 2010-02-20. 
5. ^ "Welcome to the NYC Water Board Web Site". New York City Water Board. http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycwaterboard/html/home/home.shtml. Retrieved 2010-07-10. 
6. ^ "New York City's Water Supply System Map". New York City Department of Environmental Protection. http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/drinking_water/wsmaps_wide.shtml. Retrieved 2009-09-03. 
7. ^ "World's Longest Water Tunnel". Popular Science: 35. December 1932. http://books.google.com/books?id=iigDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA35. Retrieved 2011-09-27. 
8. ^ Robbins, Tom (September 1, 2009). "Water, Water, Everywhere in Mayoral Race". The Village Voice. http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2009/09/water_water_eve.php. Retrieved 2010-02-20. 
9. ^ Belson, Ken (November 22, 2008). "Plumber’s Job on a Giant’s Scale: Fixing New York’s Drinking Straw". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/nyregion/23tunnel.html. Retrieved 2010-02-20. 
10. ^ New York City Department of Environmental Protection (March 6, 2008). "Preparation Underway to Fix Leak in Delaware Aqueduct". http://home2.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/press_releases/08-04pr.shtml. Retrieved 27 September 2011. 
11. ^ Royte, Elizabeth (2008). Bottlemania: How Water Went on Sale and Why We Bought It. New York: Bloomsbury USA. p. 132. ISBN 978-1596913714. 

Further reading

• Galusha, Diane (1999). Liquid Assets: A History of New York City's Water System. Fleischmanns, NY: Purple Mountain Press. ISBN 0-916346-73-0. 
• Koeppel, Gerard T. (2000). Water for Gotham: A History. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN ISBN 0-691-01139-7.