Building New York City's Water System

Many New Yorkers are used to living around lots of people. You may also live with lots of folks in your house or apartment. When you fill a glass of water to drink, where does it come from? When you or someone in your family goes to the bathroom, where does it go?

In the 1800s, people lived just like us in smaller homes or apartments. However, people weren't so lucky to have toilets and sinks. In fact, people and factories had to dump their waste right into whatever water source was nearby! And in many cases, that was the same water source where your drinking water came from…

Now that you've explored the history of New York City's water, get ready to see what comes next! The three locations below receive water from the Croton and Catskill/Delaware systems today.

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