~The Essential Link of Past to Present~
A scene of old New York near the Croton Aqueduct
Summary of New York's Water History
Timeline of New York City's Water from 1600 to the Present
Maps and Charts of New York's Water Supply
Summary of Laws and Regulations Dealing with Water and the Economy
Test Yourself: How Much Do You Know About H2O?
Summary of New York's Water History
"The history of cities can be read as the history
of water," said Matthew Gandy, author of Concrete and Clay1. Indeed New York's history
of urban development has had a direct effect upon its water supply
and purity. When water was scarce, New York experienced disease,
social instability, threats of fire, and sharp drops in economic capital.
When water was plentiful, disease plummeted, business boomed, and the people were more
pleased with their standard of living. The growing use of water
became an indicator of New York's modernization, something the emerging
middle class invariably became a part of, followed soon after by the
lower class.
This
is the Croton Aqueduct
While the middle class experienced more rapid development and enjoyed
many of the benefits of development, the lower class suffered from
the consequences of this development. Even the upper class was
often dissatisfied because of the uprooting of their lands and boundaries
for what seemed to them as an unnecessary event. They hadn't felt
the hardships of the polluted water since they lived so close to the source.
Perhaps if they had been directly affected they would have cared.
Their political power would have gotten the job done much faster
than it actually was. The expression NIMBY (Not In My Backyard)
is applicable here.
This is the Newburgh Ferry
in 1960
Throughout New York's history, we see trends toward modernization,
urbanization, and increased knowledge of epidemiology. With the
investment in the growth of buildings and factories came jobs. With
these jobs came people. And more people inevitably lead to overcrowding,
disease, discontent, and both pollution and inefficiency of water.
These factors contributed toward the government's need to increase
the water supply through the building of reservoirs and aqueducts.
A Timeline of New York's Water from 1600 to Present1,2,3,4,5
This
is the Croton Aqueduct
This is the Newburgh Ferry
in 1960 The New York Factory
Complex at East Main Street in 1930 
This is the Triangle Shirwaist Factory Fire of 1911
This is the New York Rubber
Factory
A study of the history of New York inevitably leads to economics.
It might be surprising for some to find that the primary goal
of modernization in New York during the 1800s was carried out in order
to increase capital investment through enhancing space in urban areas,
clearly an economic goal, rather than the most common thought, which
was to improve conditions of the poor, a social goal. Surely
the poor benefited from this new trend toward hygiene, but their welfare
was not in mind during this time. Instead, capitalists and government
agencies worked to increase New York's efficiency in the economic market.
This is the Triangle Shirwaist Factory Fire of 1911
This is the New York Rubber
Factory
| 1600s |
Early settlers had little access
to water since only the wealthy had private wells;
poor often collected rainwater with wood/mason cisterns to survive |
| 1658 |
First public well was
dug in front of the old fort in what's now the intersection of Bowling
Green and Broadway |
| 1700s |
Spring outside NYC, called Collect
Pond (in what's now Park Row) is the only major source of good water
left |
| 1774 |
Common Council approved Irish engineer
Colle's plan to build a hilltop pump so water could flow in any
direction of gravity |
| 1776 |
British occupation ended Colle's
project before it's completion; population reached 22,000;
reservoir was constructed on east side of Broadway between
Pearl and White Streets |
| 1785 |
New York Journal described
the city's water as "a very sink and common sewer" |
| 1790 |
Alexander Hamilton and Federalists
controlled all the banks in New York |
| 1791 |
Yellow fever (disease carried
by mosquitos) epidemics became more severe and frequent |
| 1792 |
The city began to use tax revenues
for the digging of new wells |
| 1798 |
Most severe yellow fever outbreak;
link made between poor sanitation of water and disease |
| 1799 |
Republican Aaron Burr passed bill
granting charter to Manhattan Water Company; added clause for
surplus capital to be used "in the purchase of public or other stock,
or in any other moneyed transactions or operations"; rejected
charter to divert cleaner water at higher cost |
| 1800 |
Manhattan Company sank a well
at Reade and Centre Streets, pumped water into reservoir on
Chambers Street, and distributed it through wooden mains
to a portion of the community; water was poor quality
and cost $20 per year |
| 1809 |
A network of 249 wells were created,
which were the result of the 1792 use of tax revenues to build new
wells |
| 1822 |
Yellow fever outbreak |
| 1830 |
City constructed a tank for fire
protection at 13th Street and Broadway as was filled from a well;
12-inch iron cast pipes were used for distribution |
| 1832 |
Cholera outbreak; over
3,000 people died; increased awareness of public health and
the need to reform |
| 1842 |
Croton River (now Westchester
County) became source of water; aqueduct was built to carry
90 million gallons of water to the city per day |
| 1849 |
Cholera outbreak |
| 1854 |
Cholera outbreak |
| 1866 |
Cholera outbreak |
| 1873 |
Boyds Corner Reservoir was added
as another source of water supply |
| 1878 |
Middle Branch Reservoir was added
to increase the supply of water even further |
| 1890 |
New Croton Aqueduct was completed
after being worked on for five years; ended distribution of
Croton River Reservoir at 42nd Street in Manhattan |
| 1892 |
Last major cholera outbreak |
| 1905 |
Board
of Water Supply was created by State Legislature; decision
to develop Catskill region as additional source of water |
| 1911 |
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire,
a devastating garment factory disaster, killed 146 women, mostly
Italian and Jewish immmigrants |
| 1915 |
Catskill System was completed;
included the Ashokan Reservoir and Catskill Aqueduct |
| 1925 |
Discontinued distribution of Croton
River Reservoir in Central Park south of 86th Street |
| 1928 |
Board of Water Supply's plan to
develop Rondout watershed and Delaware River tributaries was approved
by Board of Estimate and Apportionment; Schoharie Reservoir
and Shandaken Tunnel were completed |
| 1931 |
Supreme Court upheld right of
NYC to use Delaware River as water source |
| 1937 |
Construction of Delaware System
began |
| 1944 |
Delaware Aqueduct completed |
| 1950 |
Rondout Reservoir finished |
| 1954 |
Neversink Reservoir completed |
| 1955 |
Pepacton Reservoir finished |
| 1964 |
Cannonsville Reservoir completed |
| 1989 |
Long-range Watershed Protection Program started
|
| 1990s |
Some components of program were
implemented, mainly economical in scope |
| 1997 |
Watershed
Memorandum of Agreement was signed, uniting NYC, NY state,
EPA, and environmentalists in support of enhanced watershed protection
program for NYC drinking water supply |
