Yesterday I visited the Old Croton Aqueduct with my club (Soil and Water Conservation Society).  We were able to walk into the 41 mile aqueduct built in the 1800’s, and see how it worked, and learn some of the history behind it. It was New York Cities first clean source of water (after they polluted all of the natural springs). Croton water was clean and clear, until more recently (about 1970’s) when it was decided that a filtration plant needed to be built to prepare for increasing sediment in the water from the rapid development in the watershed. New York’s other source of water-the Catskill/Delaware systems are not treated, and there are no plans to treat them or remove sediment.  This is because New York City has a memorandum of agreement to keep the watersheds in the Catskills/ of the Delaware River clean of pollutants and development. The protected sources keep the water clean, and without need for treatment.

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