Our water system was an engineering marvel when it was created in the early 19th century. But the same technology that once was ahead of its time is now past its prime. We must also confront the legacy of our industrial past, which treated New York's waterways as a delivery system, rather than as a source of recreation or a significant ecological habitat. We have two primary water challenges - to ensure the water we drink is pure and reliable, and that the waterways surrounding our city are clean and available for use by New Yorkers. In order to meet these two challenges, we must aggressively invest in critical back-up systems to our water network and embrace a range of practices to improve water quality.
View report for Water
View PlaNYC chapters on Water
Agencies and offices that provide the most performance measures for this PlaNYC / Sustainability theme:
Department of Environmental Protection
Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning & Sustainability
