November 15, 2019

More than 40 educators learned about the important role that forests, farms and streams play in the nation’s largest water supply; Photos are available on DEP’s Flickr Page

More than 40 educators from New York City and the upstate watershed, including public and parochial school teachers, spent Veterans Day visiting the Hudson Valley to learn about the City’s water supply system and local partnership programs related to forests, farms, streams, reservoirs and aqueducts. The daylong tour included stops at Kensico Reservoir, a Kensico watershed forestry site, Hilltop Hanover Farm and Environmental Center, New Croton Dam and the Old Croton Aqueduct. The tour provides information and exercises to educate thousands of people in New York City about their high-quality drinking water and the invaluable role that watershed protection programs play in preserving it. This program, part of an annual tour for educators, provides opportunities to explore the New York City water supply system, learn from DEP and partner organization experts, and participate in hands-on inquiry-based lessons to complement elementary through college level STEM and humanities disciplines. Daylong tours are made possible by the Watershed Agricultural Council.

DEP manages New York City’s water supply, providing more than 1 billion gallons of high-quality water each day to more than 9.6 million New Yorkers. This includes more than 70 upstate communities and institutions in Ulster, Orange, Putnam and Westchester counties who consume an average of 110 million total gallons of drinking water daily from New York City’s water supply system. This water comes from the Catskill, Delaware, and Croton watersheds that extend more than 125 miles from the City, and the system comprises 19 reservoirs, three controlled lakes, and numerous tunnels and aqueducts. DEP has nearly 6,000 employees, including almost 1,000 scientists, engineers, surveyors, watershed maintainers and other professionals in the watershed. In addition to its $70 million payroll and $168.9 million in annual taxes paid in upstate counties, DEP has invested more than $1.7 billion in watershed protection programs—including partnership organizations such as the Catskill Watershed Corporation and the Watershed Agricultural Council—that support sustainable farming practices, environmentally sensitive economic development, and local economic opportunity. In addition, DEP has a robust capital program with $20.1 billion in investments planned over the next decade that will create up to 3,000 construction-related jobs per year. For more information, visit nyc.gov/dep, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.