NYC Freshwater Reservoir Tour
“Water, water, every where, / Nor any drop to drink"
- Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
NYC appears to be blessed with abundant water. Surrounded by the New York Harbor, the Hudson River, East River, Long Island Sound, Harlem River, among others, there is plenty to go around.
In reality, the brackish water that encompasses the city was not potableeven before people started dumping sewage into it!
On this tour, we will visit old and new parts of NYC’s freshwater infrastructure, learn about the people “aka sandhogs” who built the system, and learn about recent and future water developments.
Itinerary
Start - Old Croton Gatehouse (/ flexible) near Columbia University (photo)
Highbridge Water Tower
High Bridge - the oldest bridge in NYC! (photo)
Keane's Bar and Restaurant (shepherd’s pie empanadas)
Sandhogs Local 147
City Water Tunnel No. 3 Sand Hog Memorial
Van Cortlandt Park Water Treatment Plant (drive by)
Jerome Park Reservoir (photo)
Remnants of the Old Croton Aqueduct on Fordham Road
Return to Old Croton Gatehouse
Tour Specifics
Pricing
$100 each for 2 people
$75 each for 3 people
$50 each for 4 (if you really want to squeeze)
The tour should run about 3 hours, and covers
transportation ** food ** wonderful tour guiding services.
Traveling by car - traffic is out of our control, but we will do our best to stay within the timeframe!
Dropoffs within Upper Manhattan also possible
Who are the sandhogs?
Check out the above video to learn more…