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The Cost of Our Water

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New York City has been protected from the water crises gripping other cities because of a massive watershed and a stunning network of reservoirs, tunnels, plants and pipes. But even that system faces challenges as infrastructure ages and pressure grows to address longstanding environmental issues.

Watershed towns must deal with the balance between protecting the city’s water and their own need for economic activity. A project to repair a massive leak in the world’s longest tunnel will require new conservation efforts by city residents. The still-controversial Croton filtration plant is one of several projects that have impacted rising user costs, sparking calls for a new way of paying for water. And the city is facing tough choices as it makes long-term plans for cleaning up waterways polluted by sewer discharges.

This joint City Limits-WNYC reporting project digs into the tensions, choices and costs behind the water in our lives.

Test your water knowledge: Take the WNYC Quiz!

The Cost of Our Water

City’s Watershed Protection Plan Seeks Difficult Balance Upstate

Adam Wisnieski | June 15, 2015

Since 1997, New York City has spent $438 million to protect 135,149 acres of land in the Catskill/Delaware watershed, a land area greater than Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens combined. Decades-old resentment in watershed towns has eased, but there are still points of tension.

The Cost of Our Water

Your Role in Fixing a Leak in the World’s Longest Tunnel

Jarrett Murphy | June 16, 2015

Cracks in the 85-mile-long Delaware Aqueduct are leaking up to 35 million gallons a day and threaten the largest source of New York City drinking water. A huge repair job is underway, and consumers will have to conserve water to help make it work.

The Cost of Our Water

Croton Plant Still Stirs Anger, Questions about Water Projects

Adam Wisnieski | June 17, 2015

The federally mandated plant in the Bronx is finally operating, but neighbors still wonder why a site that was supposed to save money ended up costing $2 billion more than planned.

The Cost of Our Water

Growing Calls to Fix City’s Water Rates

Jarrett Murphy | June 18, 2015

Rising fees and disparities lead to a question: Can New York City charge water customers in a way that encourages conservation without punishing the poor?

The Cost of Our Water

New York Confronts Polluted Past in its Waterways

Jarrett Murphy | June 19, 2015

Of all the challenges facing the city’s awe-inspiring water system, the most contentious might be playing out now at Flushing Bay, the Bronx River and other waterways, where a push to make city waters open to swimming and fishing is running into concerns over cost.

The Cost of Our Water

Watershed Residents Offered Buyout of Flood-Damaged Homes

Adam Wisnieski | June 15, 2015

FEMA deals didn’t work for many upstate residents affected by 2011’s Tropical Storm Irene. So New York’s DEP is offering to buy some homeowners out—a way to improve city-watershed relations and pick up small but important tracts of land.

The Cost of Our Water

Steps to Protect NYC Water Boost Eagles and Trout

Adam Wisnieski | June 16, 2015

Historically known as black bear, bobcat and beaver country, the Catskills have become popular for trout fishing and bald eagle spotting, due in part because of how we get our drinking water.

The Cost of Our Water

Climate Change and Cloudy Water Challenge City’s Water System

Adam Wisnieski | June 16, 2015

You might not know what “turbidity” is but it’s a long-standing issue in the city’s Catskills watershed—one that climate change is likely to exacerbate.

The Cost of Our Water

City Tracks Tummy Trouble to Identify Water Problems

Adam Wisnieski | June 17, 2015

The departments of health and environmental protection log purchases of stomach medicine from major drug-store chains as part of an effort to spot water contamination.

The Cost of Our Water

Bright Lights Protect NYers from Water System Bugs: A Photo Essay

By Adi Talwar and Jarrett Murphy | June 23, 2015

New York City’s ultraviolet disinfection facility combines steel, light and water in an effort to prevent waterborne illnesses from afflicting New Yorkers.

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City Limits uses investigative journalism through the prism of New York City to identify urban problems, examine their causes, explore solutions, and equip communities to take action.

Founded in 1976 in the midst of New York’s fiscal crisis, City Limits exists to inform democracy and equip citizens to create a more just city. The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit funded by foundation support, ad sponsorship and donations from readers.

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