Water supply system in the New York City is one of the most elaborate and extensive in the world. The water supply system relies on an assortment of water reservoirs, aqueducts and tunnels to meet the daily water needs of the over 8 million residents and guests. Compared to other water systems in other world metropolis, water supply and treatment in New York City is simpler due to its well protected water-shields in the wilderness. The water supply in the populous and enormous city is easy as up to 95% of water requirements are met by gravity supply. Pressure necessary to maintain a supply of water that sufficiently meets the needs of the residents and visitors is, therefore, minimal. Only 5% of the population requires pressurized mechanisms to maintain water flowing. Unless the city experiences droughts and the water levels in the reservoirs go too low to support natural flow into required retail reservoirs, the municipality of New York City adds mechanical pressure to only 5% of the water supply.
The status of water supply system in the city was not as it currently stands. Historically, New York City is one of the cities that battled with problems of water-related complications for the longest time. During colonial rule in 1664, the city had a population of 1,500 people. Administrators used primitively-dug pits to serve as water sources. The population grew to 33,000 people by 1790, calling for the need to build a central water system. Collected Pond served the population of New York and for a time before it could no longer meet the needs of the growing population. The first investment that would mark the beginning of reliable water system in the city was in 1835. The city residents passed a budget to build a $12 million dam on Croton River. It was from the Croton River Dam that ideas were devised and the water supply system that serves the population currently based.
The daily usage of water in New York City amounts to approximately 1.4 billion gallons of water. Of these, it is estimated that until 2012, the water was not filtered. The safety of drinking and domestically used water in New York is attributable to the wilderness setting of its water reservoirs. The city sought to restrict all forms of development throughout and around its watersheds. One of the significant strategies it used to ensure this is through the deployment of land acquisition programs. Under this program, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection bought and protected all land around its reservoirs through conservation easement. More than 28000ha of land has been bought and protected by the conservatism since 1997
About 10% of water used in the city comes from East of Hudson reservoirs. In addition, the city has a reliable water supply through other 18 water reservoirs and three controlled lakes. The water catchment areas cover a land of about 1,972 square miles. The watersheds stretch to the west and the north of the city. The watersheds have two generally agreed regions. The significant region is the Delaware or Catskill system situated to the west of the city. Delaware serves the city with 90% of its daily water requirements. The Croton watershed is situated to the Eastern side of Hudson River. It provides 10% of the water used in the city.
The water system of New York City uses a variety of pipes to pass water from the reservoirs and treatment plants to consumers in their homes and industries. The earliest pipes laid in the early 1990s were cast iron. The cast iron pipes are old, large and are placed right next to the treatment plants. They are coated to avoid water contamination. There are plans to replace them with inexpensive concrete pipes. The concrete pipes are already in use for selected few factories within the city. In addition, the municipality uses ductile iron that is expensive than cast iron. For small diameter pipes, the water supply company uses PVC pipes. The pipes are not expensive. They are also not coated. The pipes are preferred for water transportation in the city as gasoline in the soil cannot pass into the water within its hood. Asbestos pipes that had once been in extensive use in the water supply system have actively been faced out in favor of PVC as they are brittle and no longer manufactured.
Despite the considerable hygienic source of New York City compared to other metropolis around the world, the water still undergoes elaborate treating process. All water in the city that is meant for industrial use, domestic or medical use undergoes treatment. The municipality places a lot of emphasis on protecting the lives of residents and guests of the city as the presence of any contaminants in the water could be detrimental to the safety of populations. The foremost step in the treatment of water used by New York City residents and guests is pre-chlorination. Pre-chlorination controls algae and arrests other biological growths in the water reservoirs. The next step is aeration, which along with pre-chlorination removes dissolved manganese and iron in the water.
Further, the water undergoes coagulation for the purposes of flocculation. At this stage, water treatment involves the use of coagulant aids known as polyelectrolyte. These aids accelerate the removal of suspended solids in the floc. The next step is filtration that involves the removal of solid debris from the water. Thereafter, there is desalination that involves removal of salts from the water follows filtration. The last stage before the water is channeled to the residents and guests of New York City involves disinfection of the water. This involves killing of bacteria and any pathogens that may have survived the previous steps. The water channeled to the final users is safe for drinking, industrial use and medical use.
The New York water supply system has an elaborate water hydrant system that helps in emergency firefighting. There are special lines of water that are dedicated for the fire hydrants from the source of water in the reservoirs to strategic firefighting stations. Although water that passes through the hydrants is safe, it does not go through an elaborate treatment as that intended for domestic use.
Piping layout for the city is intricate. Given the sophistication of the city, the municipality has come up with a layout that equally matches the status of the city. In so doing, the municipality ensures that the primary need of water reaches all residents of the city irrespective of their location. The figure below is a pictorial illustration of the complex water system layout within the city.
Works Cited
Ahmed, Alfred, et al. Water and Sanitary Issues in New York. New York: Harper & Row,
2008.
Berge, Kathleen Stassen. Water and the People: New York's case. New York: Worth
Publishers, 2005.
New York Water Supplies Ltd. System Designs. New York: Prentice Hall, 2012.
