Jamaica Water Supply, Queens

Beginning in 1897, the Jamaica Water Supply provided drinking water to parts of Queens from a series of wells and water storage tanks.  After the city took over the system it was shut down in 2007, and people in southeastern Queens were connected to the city's main water supply.  Some of the wells were polluted, but in general the water was not the highest quality.  With repairs about to be made on one of the large upstate supply tunnels, NYCDEP plans to reactivate some of the wells. The wells are not secret, but they are difficult to find.  Using various city inventories and databases I was able to locate all of them.  Most are located on residential blocks, fenced in, with a few telltale structures, but completely unmarked.  Others are in the midst of other industrial sites.  These photographs were made in December 2014.