Brooklyn Water Supply Long Island Aqueduct, Part 1

The City of Brooklyn built its own water supply in the 19th Century.  It was a series of wells, ponds and reservoirs, running from Massapequa to the Ridgewood Reservoir, connected by an aqueduct that ran parallel to Sunrise Highway, and then northwest under what is now called Conduit Boulevard.  Robert Moses swapped most of the land with Nassau County so he could build highways.  The wells are all gone, but the ponds and reservoirs remain, mostly as parks.  the structures are in disrepair, or have been completely destroyed.  I walked from Massapequa to Wantagh to photograph the section furthest from Brooklyn.  I've included two earlier pictures at the bottom; the Massapequa Gatehouse in 1998, before it had a roof (and a coat of red paint) and the Wantagh Pumping Station, before it was  walled in.

Massapequa Gatehouse

Massapequa Gatehouse

Massapequa Spillway

Seaford Creek

Seaford Gatehouse

Wantagh Upper Spillway

Wantagh Lower Spillway

Wantagh Gatehouse

Wantagh Pump Station

Walking Route

Massapequa Gatehouse, 1998

Wantagh Pump Station, 1997