Croton River Aqueduct Essay ⋆ Environment Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

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The Croton River Aqueduct was built in 1837-41 under the supervision of Chief Engineer John B. Jervis and is one of the oldest dams of the modern United States. It is 38 miles long and located in the southeastern part of the state of New York. It is part of a system of waterworks that is used to transport water to New York City. This includes tunnels, one of which passes beneath the Harlem River; Highbridge, which is a Roman style aqueduct; and the New Croton Aqueduct, which was built 1885-91. The aqueduct was hailed as a huge engineering success of its day, and three former and current presidents of the United States attended its opening, when the 50-foot-high fountain in City Hall Park was turned on in October of 1842. The reservoir that received the water had a capacity of 180 million gallons.

As the city has grown, the intensity of demand for water has grown at an enormous and unpredictable rate. Future planning for water demand and maintenance of the existing system are important and complex issues. In its early years, New York was built mostly from wooden houses, which were vulnerable to the rapid spread of fire. Available water sources included wells and cisterns, which may have been suitable for domestic use, but were inadequate to fight fire.

The growth of industry also added to the demand for water, and pollution became a significant problem. Cholera and yellow fever threatened the people of New York. The Croton River Aqueduct helped to solve these problems until it became superseded and, in 1940, the Commissioner for Parks and Recreation ordered it to be drained and filled. The New Croton Dam continues to supply up to 10 percent of the city’s need for water.

The pressure to maintain water quality and regularity of supply has become even more intense as the result of demand for housing and development within the Croton watershed area. The land is available at comparatively cheap rates and is all the more attractive for the pressure on permits elsewhere in the vicinity. Local public and private sector groups have consulted to plan for future development. Water management requires representatives from areas under numerous jurisdictions and technical experts from a variety of disciplines. Consequently, competing interests seek to exploit and protect a scarce resource.

Bibliography:

“Croton Aqueduct,” Civil Engineering (v.72/11-12, 2002);
Jeffrey Kroessler, Old Croton Aqueduct: Rural Resources Meet Urban Needs (Hudson River Museum, 1992);
Alex Philippidis, “Croton Watershed under Review,” Westchester County Business Journal (v.38/8, 1999).