June 14, 2019

Fourth Graders from P.S. 8 Tour Jerome Park Reservoir Grounds and Learn About New York City’s Water Supply System

On Wednesday, fourth graders from P.S. 8 joined the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to tour the grounds of Jerome Park Reservoir and learn about the City’s water supply system. The tours are part of DEP’s ongoing partnership with schools located in the vicinity of the Reservoir to provide a pilot education program about the water system. This includes teacher professional development, classroom visits and guided, interpretive tours of the Reservoir grounds. Over the last four years, about 3,500 students from Bronx H.S. of Science, DeWitt Clinton H.S., Discovery H.S., H.S. of American Studies at Lehman College, P.S. 8, P.S. 86, P.S. 95, AmPark Neighborhood School, and M.S. 244 have taken part in the program.

Jerome Park Reservoir is roughly 93-acres in size, has the capacity to hold up to 773 million gallons of water, and is located in the northwest Bronx. It receives water from the City’s Croton Watershed, located in Westchester and Putnam Counties, and is the last stop for the water before it enters the Croton Water Filtration Plant and goes into the City’s distribution system.

DEP manages New York City’s water supply, providing approximately 1 billion gallons of high-quality drinking water each day to more than 9 million residents, including 8.5 million in New York City. The water is delivered from a watershed that extends more than 125 miles from the city, comprising 19 reservoirs and three controlled lakes. Approximately 7,000 miles of water mains, tunnels and aqueducts bring water to homes and businesses throughout the five boroughs, and 7,500 miles of sewer lines and 96 pump stations take wastewater to 14 in-city treatment plants. DEP has nearly 6,000 employees, including almost 1,000 in the upstate watershed. In addition, DEP has a robust capital program, with a planned $20.1 billion in investments over the next 10 years 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.