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Nineteen Reservoirs: On Their Creation and the Promise of Water for New York City
Without the nineteen upstate reservoirs that supply its water, New York City as we know it would not exist today.
From 1907 to 1967, a network of reservoirs and aqueducts was built across more than one million acres in upstate New York, including Greene, Delaware, Sullivan, and Ulster Counties. This feat of engineering served to meet New York City’s ever-increasing need for water, sustaining its inhabitants and cementing it as a center of industry. West of the Hudson, it meant that twenty-six villages, with their farms, forest lands, orchards, and quarries, were bought for a fraction of their value, demolished, and submerged, profoundly altering ecosystems in ways we will never fully appreciate.
This paradox of victory and loss is at the heart of Nineteen Reservoirs, Lucy Sante’s meticulous account of how New York City secured its seemingly limitless fresh water supply, and why it cannot be taken for granted. In inimitable form, Sante plumbs the historical record to surface forgotten archives and images, bringing lost places back to life on the page. Her immaculately calibrated sensitivity honors both perspectives on New York City’s reservoir system and helps us understand the full import of its creation.
An essential history of the New York City region that will reverberate far beyond it, Nineteen Reservoirs examines universal divisions in our resources and priorities—between urban and rural, rich and poor, human needs and animal habitats. This is an unmissable account of triumph, tragedy, and unintended consequences.
With 29 present-day photographs by Tim Davis
From 1907 to 1967, a network of reservoirs and aqueducts was built across more than one million acres in upstate New York, including Greene, Delaware, Sullivan, and Ulster Counties. This feat of engineering served to meet New York City’s ever-increasing need for water, sustaining its inhabitants and cementing it as a center of industry. West of the Hudson, it meant that twenty-six villages, with their farms, forest lands, orchards, and quarries, were bought for a fraction of their value, demolished, and submerged, profoundly altering ecosystems in ways we will never fully appreciate.
This paradox of victory and loss is at the heart of Nineteen Reservoirs, Lucy Sante’s meticulous account of how New York City secured its seemingly limitless fresh water supply, and why it cannot be taken for granted. In inimitable form, Sante plumbs the historical record to surface forgotten archives and images, bringing lost places back to life on the page. Her immaculately calibrated sensitivity honors both perspectives on New York City’s reservoir system and helps us understand the full import of its creation.
An essential history of the New York City region that will reverberate far beyond it, Nineteen Reservoirs examines universal divisions in our resources and priorities—between urban and rural, rich and poor, human needs and animal habitats. This is an unmissable account of triumph, tragedy, and unintended consequences.
With 29 present-day photographs by Tim Davis
208 pages, Hardcover
Published August 9, 2022
38 people are currently reading
2188 people want to read
About the author
Lucy Sante
102 books237 followersLucy Sante was born in Verviers Belgium and emigrated to the United States in the early 1960s. Since 1984, she has been a teacher and writer, and frequent contributor to the New York Review of Books. Her publications include Low Life: Lures and Snares of Old New York, and The Factory of Facts and Folk Photography. She currently teaches creative writing and the history of photography at Bard College in New York State.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
November 5, 2022
When you’re reading a non-fiction book and you keep having to put the book down to look at an online map or Google a person or place name…that’s a sign the book is not comprehensive or thorough.
Lots of images of old maps that are unreadable, mostly because they’re too small. I wish the author had offered a web link to these maps so I could really understand what she was trying to convey.
Lots of images of old maps that are unreadable, mostly because they’re too small. I wish the author had offered a web link to these maps so I could really understand what she was trying to convey.
January 19, 2023
It’s a fascinating read about a subject she’s passionate about, however the lack of a strict chronological telling or even a complete geographic context (period maps are amazing, but modern maps with more colors than brown are helpful to a modern reader who doesn’t have the relationship between all of these branches of rivers and which counties they’re in memorized) really hinder the narrative. Also, could have used better editing. There’s a few places where the parenthetical explanation of acres to square miles is incorrect by at least a factor of ten so it’s hard to contextualize how much the City is buying or what percentage of the land a certain farm is.
September 12, 2022
A quick read. It’s really the idea that is interesting- that nyc took all this upstate land and flooded all these small towns in order to create a water supply for the city. Book not terribly interesting - sort of the same story repeated. But the city acted pretty horribly and kind of irresponsibly. The pics and old maps and postcards are good/poignant.
August 16, 2024
this could have been a lot more interesting
September 30, 2022
The larger the city, the more need there is for fresh, potable water in order to keep the city growing. The Romans knew that with the construction of their aqueducts as did the Persians, the Minoans and other early civilizations.
Sacre collects numerous pictures and postcards of the 6 main reservoirs that serve New York City starting with the Croton System of 12 reservoir lakes to the Ashoka Reservoir, the Gilboa, Rondout, Neversink, Pepacton and Cannonsville.
This is upstate rural verses the downstate city continued to grow tense with each other with each additional reservation was planned and land taken from the 'ignorant hayseeds' especially as these counties and towns did not have the capital or political sway to counter the metropolitan influence and connections.
Interesting enough, water metering for the city was 'hit or miss' starting in 1870. By 1907, New York City used 135 gallons per person while London used 36 gallons per person. Theft was rampant - and no wonder the city administration continued to demand more and more reservoirs in order to keep water flowing. The metering issue was brought up again and again until mandatory installation started in - - -1991 and still has had holdouts into 2001.
Oddly enough, the metropolitan water bureaus continued to expand until they started to move in on the Delaware River watershed which is shared by Pennsylvania as well as New Jersey when someone actually had the resources to fight for their share and rights.
An interesting look at the growth of a city and it's relations with their rural neighbors. To this day, relations between 'upstate' and 'downstate' New york have remained tense. Especially in the areas where rural townships that once were home to generations of local settlers are now under millions of gallons of water.
2022-206
Sacre collects numerous pictures and postcards of the 6 main reservoirs that serve New York City starting with the Croton System of 12 reservoir lakes to the Ashoka Reservoir, the Gilboa, Rondout, Neversink, Pepacton and Cannonsville.
This is upstate rural verses the downstate city continued to grow tense with each other with each additional reservation was planned and land taken from the 'ignorant hayseeds' especially as these counties and towns did not have the capital or political sway to counter the metropolitan influence and connections.
Interesting enough, water metering for the city was 'hit or miss' starting in 1870. By 1907, New York City used 135 gallons per person while London used 36 gallons per person. Theft was rampant - and no wonder the city administration continued to demand more and more reservoirs in order to keep water flowing. The metering issue was brought up again and again until mandatory installation started in - - -1991 and still has had holdouts into 2001.
Oddly enough, the metropolitan water bureaus continued to expand until they started to move in on the Delaware River watershed which is shared by Pennsylvania as well as New Jersey when someone actually had the resources to fight for their share and rights.
An interesting look at the growth of a city and it's relations with their rural neighbors. To this day, relations between 'upstate' and 'downstate' New york have remained tense. Especially in the areas where rural townships that once were home to generations of local settlers are now under millions of gallons of water.
2022-206
June 15, 2024
Did not expect one of my favorite reads this year to be about artificial lakes in Upstate NY, or that I would develop such strong feelings about water meters!
September 5, 2023
A brief look at how New York City gets its water - basically an essay, expanded to book length by the inclusion of extraordinary photographs. Sante charts the construction of reservoirs in upstate New York, examining how whole villages were essentially destroyed to supply New York City with its drinking water. But the book is far too short, missing several opportunities to dig into details (I kept thinking what Robert Caro would do with this material). I would have given it three stars, but the gorgeous photographs with which it is generously larded brings it up to four.
August 23, 2022
Excellent telling of the reservoirs created by NYC in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the destruction of towns, villages, farms, business and lives by that creation. Informative, non-judgmental, it tells of the need for water and the solution the city took...and the cost to the Catskills.
October 15, 2024
Before this book I knew very little about ny reservoirs. Now I have a moderate amount of information on ny reservoirs
October 6, 2022
Lucy Sante tells a no-frills history of New York City's water supply. The facts and figures of the sprawling system and the impacts of its development are lavishly illustrated with period and current photos and memorabilia. Bcause of the illustrations, this book is best read in hard copy. Read more at bookmanreader.blogspot.com.
January 2, 2023
This is the germ of an excellent book. I’ve been fascinated by New York City’s water supply ever since I learned about the Croton Aqueduct, which runs right behind my childhood home. But that original aqueduct is no longer active, and the city now gets the vast majority of its water from reservoirs further north, on the other side of the Hudson, in the Catskills. Sante’s book is a short history of the creation of this water supply.
The problem is that the book is much too short to be anything more than a sketch. With just about 160 pages of text—and at least half of those pages occupied by large photographs—the book could easily have been a long magazine article rather than a stand-alone volume. Now, normally I appreciate short books, but in this case there were so many potentially interesting topics that I felt short-changed by the end.
First, there is the fascinating story of the towns that were buried under the new reservoirs, whose residents—both alive and dead—had to be relocated. Sante relies on purely historical records, providing a snapshot of the buildings that were submerged. But her story is not enlivened by any interviews or eye-witness accounts of the flooding. She discusses how the city bullied the property owners, providing measly compensation for lost homes and businesses, but does not follow up on what happened to these unlucky souls. Very little attention is given to the construction of the tunnels that convey the water from its origin in the Catskills all the way to NYC—which includes the Delaware Aqueduct, the longest tunnel in the world (85 miles, or 137 km), which passes underneath the Hudson River—a massive engineering feat.
I also think much more could have been written about the construction process. Sante touches on the makeup of the workforce and the work camps. But surely there must be a treasure trove of good stories in this vein—interactions between the workers and the local population, incidence of discrimination and infighting, fatal accidents during dangerous dam construction. When all of these abovementioned threads are taken together, there is the material of an epic poem, rather than just a little volume.
Sante does deserve credit for her discussion of water metering. I had no idea that water meters were resisted in the city for such a long time, only finally becoming universal at the end of the 20th century. Though the idea of free and unlimited water sounds nice, the lack of metering led to significant waste, which put strain on the water system. I also enjoyed learning that, at various points, a dam across the Hudson River was proposed—though the idea was resisted because of the poor quality of the water (to put it mildly).
Aside from the content, the book is valuable for the photographs alone. The informational chapters are full of historical postcards, maps, and photos—of the city, of the construction of the upstate dams, of some of the communities that were sacrificed to the city. And the book ends with several pages of contemporary photos (of the areas around the reservoirs) by Tim Davis. The book is thus quite attractive, even if it doesn’t fully satisfy one’s curiosity.
In any case, I think it is valuable to consider simple things like water supply. For most of us, most of the time, water is taken for granted. Yet it is a precious, finite resource. Getting enough of it—pure, uncontaminated, and fresh—to the millions living in New York City took a great deal of money and time. More than that, it required overcoming engineering challenges and displacing hundreds of people from their homes. And though the city’s water supply seems stable for now, there is no way of telling whether it will be enough in the years to come, as the climate changes and populations fluctuate.
The problem is that the book is much too short to be anything more than a sketch. With just about 160 pages of text—and at least half of those pages occupied by large photographs—the book could easily have been a long magazine article rather than a stand-alone volume. Now, normally I appreciate short books, but in this case there were so many potentially interesting topics that I felt short-changed by the end.
First, there is the fascinating story of the towns that were buried under the new reservoirs, whose residents—both alive and dead—had to be relocated. Sante relies on purely historical records, providing a snapshot of the buildings that were submerged. But her story is not enlivened by any interviews or eye-witness accounts of the flooding. She discusses how the city bullied the property owners, providing measly compensation for lost homes and businesses, but does not follow up on what happened to these unlucky souls. Very little attention is given to the construction of the tunnels that convey the water from its origin in the Catskills all the way to NYC—which includes the Delaware Aqueduct, the longest tunnel in the world (85 miles, or 137 km), which passes underneath the Hudson River—a massive engineering feat.
I also think much more could have been written about the construction process. Sante touches on the makeup of the workforce and the work camps. But surely there must be a treasure trove of good stories in this vein—interactions between the workers and the local population, incidence of discrimination and infighting, fatal accidents during dangerous dam construction. When all of these abovementioned threads are taken together, there is the material of an epic poem, rather than just a little volume.
Sante does deserve credit for her discussion of water metering. I had no idea that water meters were resisted in the city for such a long time, only finally becoming universal at the end of the 20th century. Though the idea of free and unlimited water sounds nice, the lack of metering led to significant waste, which put strain on the water system. I also enjoyed learning that, at various points, a dam across the Hudson River was proposed—though the idea was resisted because of the poor quality of the water (to put it mildly).
Aside from the content, the book is valuable for the photographs alone. The informational chapters are full of historical postcards, maps, and photos—of the city, of the construction of the upstate dams, of some of the communities that were sacrificed to the city. And the book ends with several pages of contemporary photos (of the areas around the reservoirs) by Tim Davis. The book is thus quite attractive, even if it doesn’t fully satisfy one’s curiosity.
In any case, I think it is valuable to consider simple things like water supply. For most of us, most of the time, water is taken for granted. Yet it is a precious, finite resource. Getting enough of it—pure, uncontaminated, and fresh—to the millions living in New York City took a great deal of money and time. More than that, it required overcoming engineering challenges and displacing hundreds of people from their homes. And though the city’s water supply seems stable for now, there is no way of telling whether it will be enough in the years to come, as the climate changes and populations fluctuate.
November 4, 2022
Before reading Nineteen Reservoirs, I knew a little about the Croton reservoir system that brings some water to New York City—I knew there used to be a reservoir where the New York Public Library at Bryant Park is now, and I've walked up the spiraling stairs of the High Bridge Water Tower (and across High Bridge itself), and I've seen the Croton Dam. But I knew almost nothing about the "six great reservoirs" constructed between 1907 and 1967, to which Sante devotes the bulk of this book. Sante writes about how and when those reservoirs were built, and about the villages and farms and houses and lives that those reservoirs displaced; she writes about the way the city used eminent domain to acquire land, and about the often protracted claims processes for compensating people displaced by the reservoirs' construction. She also writes about other factors in the conversation around water supply and water usage: I had no idea, for example, about the decades-long debates about installing water meters in New York City residential buildings, from the time of Boss Tweed onwards.
I like the historical context around water usage in New York City that Sante provides, like the fire risk posed by periods when a lack of water meant that "pipes lacked sufficient pressure to serve the upper floors of buildings" (5) or how before the bigger reservoirs west of the Hudson were built, the city had "$150 million worth of dry goods sitting uninsured in warehouses because the water supply was inadequate for putting out fires" (35). The text about the reservoirs themselves is full of facts and figures—how many people were displaced, how many bodies needed to be moved from cemeteries and reinterred elsewhere, how many gallons of water a reservoir holds, how much water the city was using per day at a certain point in time, how much different people in different villages were compensated for their land. All those numbers (and the dates of the reservoirs' construction) won't necessarily stick with me, but this book was worth reading to gain some awareness of the big-picture history here. I also loved all the historical maps and photos that Sante includes with the text, and the color photos by Tim Davis from 2020 that are included in the epilogue. (And the epilogue itself, with its looser/more poetic prose, is really pleasing to me—like when Sante writes that "the water reflects clouds that appear to come from an old-master painting, and the scene is so primordial the dam in the distance just looks like a piece of tape on the canvas" (162).)
On a personal note, this book also prompted me to learn some family history: I thought I remembered a story from my childhood about my maternal grandmother's dad working on the Scituate Reservoir in Rhode Island; I also thought I remembered that my maternal grandmother was born in New York, and I wondered if her dad worked on any of the reservoirs in this book. I asked my mom and she said she thinks my grandma was born at Brown's Station; this photo that Sante includes in the book of a camp school at Brown's Station for children of reservoir workers predates my grandma's birth by 5 years, but I think her dad probably did work on the Ashokan.
I like the historical context around water usage in New York City that Sante provides, like the fire risk posed by periods when a lack of water meant that "pipes lacked sufficient pressure to serve the upper floors of buildings" (5) or how before the bigger reservoirs west of the Hudson were built, the city had "$150 million worth of dry goods sitting uninsured in warehouses because the water supply was inadequate for putting out fires" (35). The text about the reservoirs themselves is full of facts and figures—how many people were displaced, how many bodies needed to be moved from cemeteries and reinterred elsewhere, how many gallons of water a reservoir holds, how much water the city was using per day at a certain point in time, how much different people in different villages were compensated for their land. All those numbers (and the dates of the reservoirs' construction) won't necessarily stick with me, but this book was worth reading to gain some awareness of the big-picture history here. I also loved all the historical maps and photos that Sante includes with the text, and the color photos by Tim Davis from 2020 that are included in the epilogue. (And the epilogue itself, with its looser/more poetic prose, is really pleasing to me—like when Sante writes that "the water reflects clouds that appear to come from an old-master painting, and the scene is so primordial the dam in the distance just looks like a piece of tape on the canvas" (162).)
On a personal note, this book also prompted me to learn some family history: I thought I remembered a story from my childhood about my maternal grandmother's dad working on the Scituate Reservoir in Rhode Island; I also thought I remembered that my maternal grandmother was born in New York, and I wondered if her dad worked on any of the reservoirs in this book. I asked my mom and she said she thinks my grandma was born at Brown's Station; this photo that Sante includes in the book of a camp school at Brown's Station for children of reservoir workers predates my grandma's birth by 5 years, but I think her dad probably did work on the Ashokan.
September 21, 2022
Nineteen Reservoirs: On Their Creation and the Promise of Water for New York City should be required reading for all residents of the Big Apple. As a former one, from my birth in 1965 to my departure in 1989, I was astounded at my own ignorance in the planning and execution needed to build a vast reservoir system in a handful of rural counties in upstate New York to supply residents and businesses in the burgeoning metropolis with enough water to flourish. The books is a necessary addendum to Marc Reisner’s classic study Cadillac Desert in emphasizing that the politics of water is not only a serious issue for the American West, but also an ongoing problem in New York City.
As a former resident, I remember well the droughts in the 1980’s and the campaigns to make residents more aware (“If it’s yellow, let it mellow/If it’s brown flush in down”). And, since my brother still resides in a rent-stabilized apartment, I am cognizant of water saving measures like shower heads that release water as a trickle and toilets that use less water. After all, water is a finite resource, and New Yorkers have been very spoiled for well over a century. Most residents never faced the prospect of a water meter and enjoy some of the best tasting and freshest water in the nation; I have been shocked at how lousy water tastes in the American Southwest, Long Island and the South. Ironically it was liberal sentiment that wanted to keep water “free.”
Author Lucy Sante, whose first book Low Life became an instant classic in 1991, describing the seediness of old Manhattan, conjures up all her raconteur skills to weave this tale of ingenuity and political chicanery. While we can all understand the necessity of Eminent Domain and have empathy towards those onto whom the concept is enforced, it makes the stomach churn to learn of the lowballing that took place during the entire process. It seems New York politicians have always considered those upstate “Apple Knockers” and have not hesitated to rip them off under the guise of the Law. Lucy Sante makes a point in uncovering the countless instances of upstate residents being remunerated at pennies on the dollar for their forced relocation as their towns were submerged under huge engineering projects. No wonder that so many of the descendants of these residents are reactionary conservative with Trump banners proudly displayed, though the irony of parading an affinity for the corrupt son whose inherited fortune, from a pimp’s son who made his fortune in housing white people in NYC, is not lost on this reader.
The chapters are presented in easy-to-comprehend chronological order, with copious photographs, maps and historic postcards to help the reader better visualize what occurred. The book is also supplemented with current photographs of the regions by Tim Davis, a photography professor. These epilogue photos add little to the book. I urge residents with the means to eventually take an excursion to one of these artificial lakes. New York City would not be what it is without them since the East and Harlem “Rivers” are really salt water straits and since the Hudson is also highly salt water below a certain demarcation, with additional pollution and bacterial issues.
Nineteen Reservoirs: On Their Creation and the Promise of Water for New York City clocks in at less than 200 pages with photos on virtually every page, meaning that even the busiest New Yorker should have time for this work. It was rather hard for me to find a copy in rural New England, but water rights remain an issue with biblical significance; everyone should be aware of where their water comes from, at least at a layman’s level.
As a former resident, I remember well the droughts in the 1980’s and the campaigns to make residents more aware (“If it’s yellow, let it mellow/If it’s brown flush in down”). And, since my brother still resides in a rent-stabilized apartment, I am cognizant of water saving measures like shower heads that release water as a trickle and toilets that use less water. After all, water is a finite resource, and New Yorkers have been very spoiled for well over a century. Most residents never faced the prospect of a water meter and enjoy some of the best tasting and freshest water in the nation; I have been shocked at how lousy water tastes in the American Southwest, Long Island and the South. Ironically it was liberal sentiment that wanted to keep water “free.”
Author Lucy Sante, whose first book Low Life became an instant classic in 1991, describing the seediness of old Manhattan, conjures up all her raconteur skills to weave this tale of ingenuity and political chicanery. While we can all understand the necessity of Eminent Domain and have empathy towards those onto whom the concept is enforced, it makes the stomach churn to learn of the lowballing that took place during the entire process. It seems New York politicians have always considered those upstate “Apple Knockers” and have not hesitated to rip them off under the guise of the Law. Lucy Sante makes a point in uncovering the countless instances of upstate residents being remunerated at pennies on the dollar for their forced relocation as their towns were submerged under huge engineering projects. No wonder that so many of the descendants of these residents are reactionary conservative with Trump banners proudly displayed, though the irony of parading an affinity for the corrupt son whose inherited fortune, from a pimp’s son who made his fortune in housing white people in NYC, is not lost on this reader.
The chapters are presented in easy-to-comprehend chronological order, with copious photographs, maps and historic postcards to help the reader better visualize what occurred. The book is also supplemented with current photographs of the regions by Tim Davis, a photography professor. These epilogue photos add little to the book. I urge residents with the means to eventually take an excursion to one of these artificial lakes. New York City would not be what it is without them since the East and Harlem “Rivers” are really salt water straits and since the Hudson is also highly salt water below a certain demarcation, with additional pollution and bacterial issues.
Nineteen Reservoirs: On Their Creation and the Promise of Water for New York City clocks in at less than 200 pages with photos on virtually every page, meaning that even the busiest New Yorker should have time for this work. It was rather hard for me to find a copy in rural New England, but water rights remain an issue with biblical significance; everyone should be aware of where their water comes from, at least at a layman’s level.
December 14, 2025
This book is very factual and would be a great jumping off point while looking where to dive deeper on this subject. I feel like this actually suffers from trying to be too brief. It presents us records of reservoirs being built and people displaced, but it doesn't tell their stories. It only slightly gets into New York politics and mostly focuses on nyc struggle to put water meters into buildings. It unfortunately wasn't an interesting read, mostly just informative and had good pictures.
I feel like this book could have built a really good narrative. There's so much conflict between the city and those they displaced it would have been nice to see their stories and how they were affected.
What NYC did is very similar to the displacement that native Americans experienced due to colonial settlers. Capitalism and growth demands more and for the powerful they use imperialism to get the resources they want at the expense of others. Even if it's your own statesman. But it's not looked at that way because they either buy you out for as little as they can or use intimidation and force to remove you. NYC didn't set the mold, they followed the script of colonization and states like California followed suit using Imperialism on its neighbors for water. I wish we got to hear these stories a little more. These people were allowed to be angry but they were also a part of the wave displacing natives a 100 years early. If you are in the way of capital they will displace you.
NYC drowned towns with little regard to the people they displaced. It's good to know some lawyers stepped in later to start fighting for the rights of those people and getting them compensated.
I recommend Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner for a comprehensive water read.
I feel like this book could have built a really good narrative. There's so much conflict between the city and those they displaced it would have been nice to see their stories and how they were affected.
What NYC did is very similar to the displacement that native Americans experienced due to colonial settlers. Capitalism and growth demands more and for the powerful they use imperialism to get the resources they want at the expense of others. Even if it's your own statesman. But it's not looked at that way because they either buy you out for as little as they can or use intimidation and force to remove you. NYC didn't set the mold, they followed the script of colonization and states like California followed suit using Imperialism on its neighbors for water. I wish we got to hear these stories a little more. These people were allowed to be angry but they were also a part of the wave displacing natives a 100 years early. If you are in the way of capital they will displace you.
NYC drowned towns with little regard to the people they displaced. It's good to know some lawyers stepped in later to start fighting for the rights of those people and getting them compensated.
I recommend Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner for a comprehensive water read.
June 11, 2023
A short book about the genesis of the network of reservoirs and aqueducts built between 1907 and 1967 on the west side of the Hudson River. More than one million acres in the New York counties of Greene, Delaware, Sullivan, and Ulster were taken to create the system.
The takings caused the destruction of towns, villages, farms, business and lives. New York City was brutal in undervaluing the land and forcing people out. Today the residents face onerous regulations on land use, fertilization and such to protct the water.
I grew up ion New York City and benefited from the system. Now I live near the Catskill Mountains and hike in the watershed.
The book is many pictures of both the construction and current views of the reservoirs. If you are ever in the area a stop at the Time And The Valleys Museum 332 Main St, Grahamsville, NY is worth the time. Their permanent exhibit "Tunnels, Toil and Trouble" includes the history of the water system and of the towns taken to build the system. A great view ofwork in the Delaware Aqueduct, the building process and about the men who “did the dirty work
The takings caused the destruction of towns, villages, farms, business and lives. New York City was brutal in undervaluing the land and forcing people out. Today the residents face onerous regulations on land use, fertilization and such to protct the water.
I grew up ion New York City and benefited from the system. Now I live near the Catskill Mountains and hike in the watershed.
The book is many pictures of both the construction and current views of the reservoirs. If you are ever in the area a stop at the Time And The Valleys Museum 332 Main St, Grahamsville, NY is worth the time. Their permanent exhibit "Tunnels, Toil and Trouble" includes the history of the water system and of the towns taken to build the system. A great view ofwork in the Delaware Aqueduct, the building process and about the men who “did the dirty work
August 16, 2022
Interesting historical information on NYC waters
This is an interesting title written by Lucy Sante. Nineteen Reservoirs explores the history of the New York City's water supply. The reservoirs, nineteen to be exact, supply NYC, however, they are from different areas of the state of New York. To me, the book was to share the information about the history of the water that is sent to the city, made up of islands and Burroughs, and how it affected the areas where the water came from. Ecosystems changed. Different lands, including existing farms were bought, in order to provide the city. I'm from upstate New York, and wasn't aware of this history, and it is very intriguing. I always love a good historic book, especially nonfiction, and local. Because in New York, there is more than just the city. I hope to read more books by this author. Nineteen Reservoirs is a definite recommendation by Amy's Bookshelf Reviews. I read this book to give my unbiased and honest review. Amy's Bookshelf Reviews recommends that anyone who reads this book, to also write a review.
This is an interesting title written by Lucy Sante. Nineteen Reservoirs explores the history of the New York City's water supply. The reservoirs, nineteen to be exact, supply NYC, however, they are from different areas of the state of New York. To me, the book was to share the information about the history of the water that is sent to the city, made up of islands and Burroughs, and how it affected the areas where the water came from. Ecosystems changed. Different lands, including existing farms were bought, in order to provide the city. I'm from upstate New York, and wasn't aware of this history, and it is very intriguing. I always love a good historic book, especially nonfiction, and local. Because in New York, there is more than just the city. I hope to read more books by this author. Nineteen Reservoirs is a definite recommendation by Amy's Bookshelf Reviews. I read this book to give my unbiased and honest review. Amy's Bookshelf Reviews recommends that anyone who reads this book, to also write a review.
December 29, 2024
Full of historic pictures, this book is a great and interesting read.
Creation of the 19 reservoirs in upstate NY to feed water into the city for its businesses and residents is full of controversy and drama.
As landlords successfully opposed adding meters to their properties for more than a century, lawmakers and politicians elected to displace hundreds of thousands of families and small business in upstate to accommodate this greed.
Upstate NY citizens were not the only disgruntled victims of this approach as neighboring states like PA, NJ, and Delaware fought NY in many legal battles to claim their portion of surrounding bodies of water to supply their own citizens. Philadelphia was especially disgruntled as a larger city that moved to meter water in the 1950s while NYC landlords continued to defend their position to remain unmetered for their landlords profits.
Category: water supply, natural elements and resources, climate change, NY state history, population, and politics 🚰🚽🚿
Format: Print 📖
Rating: 4.8/5 ⭐️
Creation of the 19 reservoirs in upstate NY to feed water into the city for its businesses and residents is full of controversy and drama.
As landlords successfully opposed adding meters to their properties for more than a century, lawmakers and politicians elected to displace hundreds of thousands of families and small business in upstate to accommodate this greed.
Upstate NY citizens were not the only disgruntled victims of this approach as neighboring states like PA, NJ, and Delaware fought NY in many legal battles to claim their portion of surrounding bodies of water to supply their own citizens. Philadelphia was especially disgruntled as a larger city that moved to meter water in the 1950s while NYC landlords continued to defend their position to remain unmetered for their landlords profits.
Category: water supply, natural elements and resources, climate change, NY state history, population, and politics 🚰🚽🚿
Format: Print 📖
Rating: 4.8/5 ⭐️
February 16, 2023
It's not so often I find that book that is dancing on the knife's edge of simple and engrossing. In fact it's rare I read non-fiction. As a native Los Angelian, water and drought have always been part of life - where they come from, the battles and politics, the mistakes, and the consequences. But it felt like a dark mystery, or archeology, to read through the relentless destruction of NYC's water demand. And at that, through the eyes of an author who delicately weighs in the why and how. I liked this book enough that I stopped reading it so it wouldn't be over - only after several segues, including into the history and conservation status of the linden tree. Yay!
March 22, 2023
I had always heard that New York City has the cleanest, most plentiful drinking water in the country (and maybe even the world), but I’d never heard WHY…so I read this book. It gave some pretty good answers.
Super quick and easy, at less than 200 pages, many of which are adorned with beautiful pictures as this project was part historical & archival research, part photo essay.
Tough to find out, of course, that like so many things in life, this water isn’t free — people paid for it with their land and their livelihoods as The City behaved like an empire and treated the Hudson Valley like its colony! But why should we even be surprised at this point?
Super quick and easy, at less than 200 pages, many of which are adorned with beautiful pictures as this project was part historical & archival research, part photo essay.
Tough to find out, of course, that like so many things in life, this water isn’t free — people paid for it with their land and their livelihoods as The City behaved like an empire and treated the Hudson Valley like its colony! But why should we even be surprised at this point?
February 24, 2025
Basically a long essay padded with old-timey photographs, which I’m glad the author included. Some things I wished it had covered: the engineering challenges of these enormous projects, in-depth stories of specific people affected, details of the politicking that must have happened, analysis of whether other American (or foreign) cities have built reservoirs more equitably, and more.
For its brevity, though, this was a well-researched intro and made me care about a topic I previously had zero interest in. Note this would probably be annoying to read if you haven’t lived in NY, given the number of places named without context.
For its brevity, though, this was a well-researched intro and made me care about a topic I previously had zero interest in. Note this would probably be annoying to read if you haven’t lived in NY, given the number of places named without context.
January 4, 2023
This is a quick read--too quick. At roughly 25,000 words, it's the size of a very long magazine article, augmented with dozens of photographs. Another reviewer gave a perfect two-word description: "no frills." The writing is elegant, but much of the complicated story of NYC water is left untold. Beyond a few brief examples, Sante largely ignores the heartrending personal anecdotes of dislocated homeowners pushed off their land (often for a pittance) by laws of eminent domain. As I closed the book, I wanted more frills.
September 6, 2023
The New York City water system is a marvel of planning and construction. This beautifully designed slight book covers its inception and growth. It is at once a description of politics as well as building expertise. Water is carried from hundreds of miles away, over bridges and through tunnels, only by the force of gravity. The book covers as well the towns, farms, and cemeteries that had to be relocated--one of the sources of friction between the upstate and downstate people.
Read it!
Read it!
May 12, 2023
I picked this up after learning that the New York Public Library was built on the site of an old reservoir. There are some really interesting historical nuggets in this book. It was well written and the photos were pretty amazing. I would have liked to hear a little more from the author about the experience of researching all this and what their takeaway was. A good read for anyone interested in the subject.
December 10, 2025
I liked the pictures, and I had hoped I could have liked this book more. But it was just a nonstop list of town names (with no maps) and people and stats…the same story, several times over for the different reservoirs covered.
It reads almost like a long wikipedia article, from which I don’t think I’ll recall any meaningful information besides maybe a brief flash of recognition if I ever happen to drive by a reservoir in NY…
It reads almost like a long wikipedia article, from which I don’t think I’ll recall any meaningful information besides maybe a brief flash of recognition if I ever happen to drive by a reservoir in NY…
August 20, 2022
This book is a beautiful object but was kind of disappointing for me. Clearly extremely well researched but—for me—not enough in the way of storytelling. I’m a wannabe water supply nerd but this was (ugh sorry no pun intended) too dry. I’d love to read something like this written by ummmm… my BF PRK perhaps? Loved the old photos and postcards tho.
December 23, 2022
The battle to provide water for Los Angeles looms large in popular culture, but New York City's water system also has a complex and contested history, which is well worth understanding if you care about the city or the environment it lives in. Sante, as always, crams a lot into a few elegant sentences and key details; the book is also lavishly illustrated with historical photographs.
February 13, 2024
A fascinating tale of urban development, power, and corruption. Sante takes her examination of New York City’s underbelly on the road to explain the hidden secrets that explain how this great metropolis drinks and cleans itself. Required reading. High quality printing with lovely archival and contemporary photos.
February 18, 2025
A quick and easy read. I appreciated this book as someone who grew up new the Croton Watershed and vacationed in the Catskills. The author presents a fair picture of New York City's need to expand its water system, while also providing detailed accounts at how unfair and disastrous it was for the residents of these rural communities.
May 22, 2025
A great companion to the public works and environmental components of The Power Broker, I thoroughly enjoyed this. I would be curious to see the larger list of notes and primary sources that Sante used. It seemed like there were a variety of claims that weren't necessarily supported by evidence. I believe the author, but I would be interested to see where they're taken from.
October 9, 2022
Highly informational and concise, and very well researched. This is not fluffy narrative history, but Sante provides excellent context and anecdotes that allow the reader to see things from both the city and country perspective. The photographs and layout are phenomenal!
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