New York City Drinking Water Supply and Quality Report 2019

[Pages:24]New York City Drinking Water Supply and Quality Report

2019

Bill de Blasio Mayor

Vincent Sapienza, P.E. Commissioner

Pepacton Reservoir

Vincent Sapienza, P.E. Commissioner

Dear Friends: On behalf of my 6,000 colleagues at the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), I am proud to report that New York City continues to enjoy some of the best tap water in the world. In 2019, we delivered more than 1 billion gallons of clean and delicious drinking water to nearly 10 million people every day. In this report, you will see that New York City's drinking water met or surpassed every national and state standard for quality in 2019. These data are based on over 51,000 samples that were collected by DEP scientists throughout our reservoir system, and at nearly 1,000 streetside sampling stations in every neighborhood across the city. Those samples were analyzed 719,000 times by scientists working in our four water quality laboratories. Robotic monitoring stations on our reservoirs provided another 2 million tests to ensure DEP was sending the bestquality water to New York City at all times. Our drinking water system relies on vast reservoirs, large dams, hundreds of miles of aqueducts, and thousands of miles of water mains. We believe that steady and focused investment in infrastructure is key to the future of New York City. This is why we have more than $20 billion in investments planned over the next decade, to ensure a continuous supply of highquality drinking water for generations to come. As we end a decade and look forward to the next, I want to thank you for entrusting DEP with your drinking water supply. We take great pride in delivering the best water to millions of New Yorkers every day.

Sincerely,

Vincent Sapienza, P.E. Commissioner

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10 0 7 Neversink River

MASSNEACWHYUSOERTKTS

CHENANGO COUNTY

OTSEGO COUNTY

Oneonta

Catskill/Delaware

Watersheds

Delhi

SCHOHARIE COUNTY

Gilboa

Schoharie Reservoir

Shandaken Tunnel

CDaetslakwillare

125

Miles Cannonsville

Reservoir

Deposit

West Branch Delaware

Miles

DELAWARE COUNTY

Hunter

Walton

Downsville

Pepacton Reservoir

Phoenicia

East Branch Delaware

West Delaware TuEnansteDl elaware Tunnel

Esopus Creek

Neversink Reservoir

Liberty

SULLIVAN COUNTY

Rondout

Reservoir

Neversink Tunnel

Delaware Ellenville

Aqueduct

PENNSYLVANIA

ALBANY COUNTY

RENSSELAER COUNTY

GREENE COUNTY

COLUMBIA COUNTY

Hudson River

Ashokan Reservoir

Kingston

ULSTER COUNTY

DUTCHESS COUNTY

Poughkeepsie

CONNECTICUT

Croton Watershed

Catskill Aqueduct

Delaware

River 5 Miles

New York City's Water Supply System

Catskill/Delaware Watershed Area Croton Watershed Area Rivers and Reservoirs Catskill Aqueduct and Tunnels Croton Aqueduct Delaware Aqueduct and Tunnels County Borders State Borders

ORANGE COUNTY

50 Miles

West Branch Reservoir

New Croton Reservoir

Boyds Corner Reservoir

PUTNAM COUNTY

Kirk Lake

CRreosteornvoFiralls

Amawalk Reservoir

GiLlaekaed

Lake Gleneida

Middle Branch Reservoir

DRievseerrtvinogir

Bog Brook Reservoir

East Branch Reservoir

Titicus Reservoir

Cross River Reservoir

New Croton Aqueduct

NENWEWJERYSOERYK

ROCKLAND COUNTY

Cat/Del UV Facility

25

Miles

(from

City

Hall)

Croton Water Filtration Plant Jerome Park

Reservoir

City Tunnel No. 1

Hudson

River

Muscoot Reservoir

WESTCHESTER COUNTY

CONNECTICUT

Kensico Reservoir

White

Plains

Hillview Reservoir

Long Island Sound

Manhattan

City Tunnel No. 2

Bronx

City Tunnel No. 3 Silver Lake Tanks

City Tunnel No. 3 (Stage 2) Queens/Brooklyn Leg

NASSAU COUNTY

Queens

Brooklyn Richmond Tunnel

Groundwater Area

Staten Island Siphon

Staten Island

New York Bay

Atlantic Ocean

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NEW YORK CITY'S WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM

New York City's water supply system provides more than 1 billion gallons of safe drinking water every day to more than 8.4 million residents of New York City; 1 million people living in the counties of Westchester, Putnam, Orange, and Ulster; and more than 60 million tourists and commuters who visit the five boroughs throughout the year. In all, the system provides high-quality drinking water to nearly half the population of New York State. New York City gets its drinking water from 19 reservoirs and three controlled lakes spread across a nearly 2,000-square-mile watershed. The watershed is located upstate in portions of the Hudson Valley and Catskill Mountains that are as far as 125 miles north of the city. New York City's water supply system is comprised of two primary water supplies called the Catskill/ Delaware and Croton. The city also has a permit to operate a groundwater supply in Southeast Queens, although water from that system has not been delivered to customers in many years. DEP employs more than 6,000 dedicated scientists, engineers, and other professionals who protect, operate, and maintain the water supply system-- considered by many to be an engineering marvel.

In 2019, New York City received a blend of drinking water from the Catskill/Delaware and Croton supplies. The Catskill/Delaware provided approximately 93 percent of the water, and approximately 7 percent was supplied by Croton.

Neversink Reservoir

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DEP's Distribution Water Quality Laboratory in Queens, NY where DEP scientists analyze thousands of water samples from across the five boroughs seven days a week, 365 days a year.

TREATING OUR DRINKING WATER

CATSKILL/DELAWARE SUPPLY

Due to the very high quality of our Catskill/Delaware supply, New York City is one of only five large cities in the country with a surface drinking water supply that does not utilize filtration as a form of treatment. The Catskill/Delaware supply operates under a filtration waiver, referred to as the "Filtration Avoidance Determination" (FAD). The water from this supply is treated using two forms of disinfection to reduce microbial risk.

Water is disinfected with chlorine, a common disinfectant added to kill germs and stop bacteria from growing on pipes. Water is also treated with ultraviolet (UV) light at the Catskill/Delaware Ultraviolet Light Disinfection Facility. The facility, located in Westchester County, is the largest of its kind in the world and is designed to disinfect more than 2 billion gallons of water per day. At the UV disinfection facility, exposure to UV light inactivates potentially harmful microorganisms without changing the water.

DEP also adds food grade phosphoric acid, sodium hydroxide, and fluoride to the water before sending it into distribution. Phosphoric acid creates a protective film on pipes to reduce the release of metals, such as lead, from service lines and household plumbing. Sodium hydroxide is added to raise the pH and reduce corrosion of household plumbing. Fluoride is added to improve dental protection, and is effective in preventing cavities at a federally-approved level of 0.7 mg/L. During 2019, only 0.6 percent of the water produced by Catskill/Delaware supply was not fluoridated.

In 2019, New York City's drinking water met or exceeded all federal and

state drinking water standards.

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CROTON SUPPLY The Croton supply is treated by the Croton Water Filtration Plant, located underground in the Bronx. The plant has the ability to treat up to 290 million gallons of drinking water each day, which helps to ensure a large enough supply of water for the city to withstand droughts. It also allows DEP to periodically shut down other parts of the water supply for repairs and inspections, and increases the flexibility of the City to respond to the evolving effects of climate change.

Water undergoes several forms of treatment as it passes through the filtration plant. The process includes coagulation, dissolved air flotation, filtration, and disinfection. During coagulation, chemicals are added to untreated water, causing any particulates to bunch together and become larger particles called floc. Injected air bubbles float the floc to the top where it is skimmed off during the process called dissolved air flotation. Finally, during filtration, the water flows through a bed of anthracite and sand to remove any remaining particles. Just like the Catskill/Delaware supply, Croton water is disinfected with chlorine and UV light to protect against potentially-harmful microorganisms. In addition, Croton water is treated with food grade phosphoric acid, sodium hydroxide, and fluoride. During 2019, 0.01 percent of the water produced by the Croton Water Filtration Plant was not fluoridated.

The Croton Water Filtration Plant first began operating in May 2015. In 2019, it was in operation from January 1 to March 20, April 29 to June 3, and October 16 to December 23.

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DEP's water quality monitoring program--far more extensive than required by law--demonstrates that the quality of New York City's drinking water remains high and meets all state and federal drinking water standards.

TESTING FOR QUALITY

DRINKING WATER SAMPLING AND MONITORING

DEP monitors the water in the distribution system, upstate reservoirs and feeder streams, and wells that are sources for New York City's drinking water supply. We continuously sample, and conduct analyses for numerous water quality parameters, including microbiological, chemical, and physical measures, throughout the watershed and as the water enters the distribution system. DEP also regularly tests water quality at nearly 1,000 water quality sampling stations throughout New York City. In 2019, DEP performed approximately 456,500 analyses on 36,300 samples from the distribution system, meeting all state and federal monitoring requirements. These data are summarized in tables starting on page 14. DEP also performed approximately 262,500 analyses on 15,000 samples from the reservoirs and their watersheds. A growing network of robotic monitoring stations provided another 2 million water quality measurements last year, allowing DEP to optimize its operation of the reservoirs, support watershed protection efforts, and study water quality trends.

REGULATION OF DRINKING WATER

The sources of drinking water (both tap water and bottled water) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and wells. As water travels over the surface of the land or through the ground, it dissolves naturally occurring minerals and, in some cases, radioactive material, and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activities. Contaminants that may be present in source water include: microbial contaminants, inorganic contaminants, pesticides and herbicides, organic chemical contaminants, and radioactive contaminants.

To ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prescribe regulations that limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. The NYSDOH and the federal Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water, which must provide the same protection for public health. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk. These regulations also establish the minimum amount of testing and monitoring that each system must undertake to ensure that the tap water is safe to drink.

Visit safewater or health. for more information about drinking water.

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