NYC Department of Environmental Protection (NYC DEP)

Out of the Archives: When building the longest tunnel in the world, you can't be afraid to get a little dirty! In 1937, this mucking crew in the southern section of the Delaware Aqueduct took a break from removing broken-up bedrock to strike a pose for the history books! December 20, 1937. https://bit.ly/2tKkvDE. #tbt #NYCWater #DelawareAqueduct

Out of the Archives: To prepare for construction of the Delaware Aqueduct system’s Neversink Reservoir, this team was shoveling inside an exploratory caisson, piling soil into buckets to be lifted out and managing to dig down 35 feet in thirteen 8-hour shifts. Caissons are enclosed on all sides except the bottom and filled with compressed air to create stable working chambers in earth, which has ground water running through it and is likely to collapse. As the ground level inside the chamber got lower, the caisson would also sink down, continuing until they reached bedrock about 100’ down, revealing the condition of the soil along the way. The caisson was eventually integrated into the Neversink Dam, completed in 1953. Water from this reservoir travels toward the Delaware Aqueduct (when it's in service) via the six-mile-long Neversink Tunnel. October 3, 1941. For more NYCDEP history, click: https://bit.ly/2tKkvDE. #NYCWater #WaterQuality #tbt #Engineering #Construction #Aqueduct #Neversink

Out of the Archives: Curious kids inspect a drilling rig on the Lower East Side during geological exploration to plan the City’s first water tunnel. At the corner of Clinton and Madison Streets, this rig was taking samples from deep underground to reveal the character of the bedrock and help determine if it would be good for tunneling. September 26, 1910. For more NYCDEP history, click: https://bit.ly/2tKkvDE. #NYCWater #Drilling #tbt #CityWaterTunnelNo1 #Engineering #LowerEastSide #ShoeShine

From the desk of Angela Licata, Deputy Commissioner, Sustainability Just as New York City schools are welcoming students back for the new academic year, we are busy opening new Green Infrastructure schoolyards that provide beautiful, safe new places for the students to play. In just the last few days we joined our partners at The Trust for Public Land (TPL) to open one at the Bronx Latin campus in Melrose, as well as one at P.S. 145Q in Jackson Heights. By replacing formerly asphalt playgrounds with new Green Infrastructure, these school campuses will now absorb nearly 1.5 million gallons of stormwater annually, helping to combat flooding in both neighborhoods while also improving the health of New York Harbor. The schoolyards will also be open to the public during non-school hours and will provide quality park access to tens of thousands of New Yorkers within a 10-minute walk of the schools. New schoolyard features include trees, colorful student murals, turf soccer pitches, and permeable pavers. I want to extend a huge thank you to TPL, the elected officials in both communities, and all the funders involved with these incredible additions to the Melrose and Jackson Heights neighborhoods. DEP’s nation-leading green infrastructure program has constructed nearly more than 14,000 green infrastructure installations that are helping to manage stormwater while beautifying neighborhoods and improving air quality. Thank you to all of the staff involved in these projects, including Acting Assistant Commissioners Melissa Enoch and Roopesh Joshi, P.E., ENV SP, Project Managers Nyleen Euton and Kimilya Spaulding, Deputy Director Kristin Ricigliano, and Director Andres F. Garcia. NYC Department of Education #NYCWater #Sustainability #Engineering #Stormwater #SchoolYard #Parks #GreenInfrastructure

Protecting NYC Water at the Source With the completion of wastewater infrastructure projects in the hamlets of Halcottsville and New Kingston, both in the Town of Middletown, DEP will conclude the New Sewage Treatment Infrastructure Facilities for Towns, Villages and Hamlets Program. The $9 million Halcottsville project provides advanced wastewater treatment for 52 properties and will treat approximately 14,000 gallons of wastewater daily, collecting and pumping wastewater to the city owned Margaretville Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility. In the hamlet of New Kingston, a newly constructed $5.2 million community septic system will treat approximately 9,000 gallons of wastewater daily, conveyed from 31 properties via small diameter effluent sewer pipes. Since the program commenced in 1997, 20 wastewater projects totaling almost $200 million have been designed and constructed. Working in partnership with the NYS Environmental Facilities Corporation and the Catskill Watershed Corporation, these projects include seven wastewater treatment plants, seven community septic systems, three septic maintenance districts, and three connections to existing wastewater plants. In addition to the $200 million in capital costs for design and construction, DEP also funds most of the annual operation and maintenance of the facilities. Providing reliable wastewater treatment allows DEP to maintain the quality of New York City’s drinking water supply system while simultaneously enhancing the economic and social character of watershed communities. #NYCWater #WaterQuality #Watershed #Engineering #Construction #DrinkingWater #WastewaterTreatment

Out of the Archives: The gorge-ous New Croton Dam spillway from an unusual vantage point, hovering over its cascade and facing the bridge that is now part of the Briarcliff-Peekskill Trailway. Built 1892-1906, this reservoir is where the New Croton Aqueduct begins carrying water 24 miles to Jerome Park Reservoir in the Bronx for distribution within the City. Photo taken circa 1910. For more NYCDEP history, click: https://bit.ly/2tKkvDE. #NYCWater #TBT #Dam #Engineering #Reservoir #TheBronx

Cutting Edge Reservoir Operations DEP is embarking on a new partnership with the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E) that will bring advanced extreme weather and water forecasting capabilities to the nation’s largest municipal water supply system. CW3E is embedded at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego, which is one of the most important centers for global earth science research and education in the world. With CW3E’s research and assistance, DEP will be able to enhance operations in real-time across the New York City water supply’s 19 reservoirs and three controlled lakes in the Catskills and Hudson Valley. This includes enabling more precise advanced forecasting of extreme storm events and enhancing reservoir operations and improving the reservoirs’ inherent ability in reducing downstream flooding in places like the Pepacton Reservoir in Delaware County—the largest in the system with a 140-billion gallon capacity. #NYCWater #Lakes #Engineering #HudsonValley #Reservior #Research #Science #ExtremeWeather

Out of the Archives: Ashokan Reservoir from the top of High Point Mountain on September 10, 1917 (the year the Catskill Aqueduct was completed), and more recently from the sky. Formed by the damming of Esopus Creek, the reservoir holds water before releasing it into the 92-mile-long aqueduct, which travels under the Hudson River and toward the city. For more NYCDEP history, click: https://bit.ly/2tKkvDE. #NYCWater #tbt #thenandnow #Aqueduct #Engineering #Reservoir

Out of the Archives: In Brooklyn 112 years ago today, this team posed with the product of their hard work, a new pipe to bring clean Catskill water south into the borough and toward Staten Island. September 5, 1912. For more NYCDEP history, click: https://bit.ly/2tKkvDE. #NYCWater #tbt #WaterQuality #CleanWater #Pipes #Catskill #Brooklyn #Construction #Engineering

Out of the Archives: How to build a dam in 3 easy steps. Kensico Dam construction moved incredibly quickly and its reservoir was filled to capacity in 1916, four years ahead of schedule! Built to hold the new supply of Catskill water, it replaced a little dam whose gatehouse lingers on the left in the upper photos. Now, this architectural and engineering marvel holds water from both the Catskill and Delaware aqueducts, up to 30.6 billion gallons. For more NYCDEP history, click:https://bit.ly/2tKkvDE. #NYCWater #tbt #Aqueducts #Kensico #Construction #Engineering #Water