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

New York City Water Tunnel No. 3

City Tunnel No. 3 is one of the largest infrastructure projects in the United States.  It was begin in 1970 and is nearing completion.  Completion of the tunnel will allow maintenance work to be done on Tunnels 1 and 2, which have been in continuous operation since their completion early in the 20th century.  The new tunnel begins at Hillview Reservoir in Westchester, then travels south through the Bronx.  Valve chambers allow portions to be shut down and to redirect water flow.  The largest valve chamber is located underneath Van Cortlandt Park.  There are other valve chambers underneath Central Park and Roosevelt Island.  The Tunnel splits in midtown, one leg going east to Queens and then Brooklyn, another south on the West Side of Manhattan.  There are shafts to allow for access every few miles, and each shaft has a distinctive ventilation tower.  Photographs of the shafts can be seen in a previous blog entry.

Shaft 2b, City Tunnel No. 3, Bronx, New York

Shaft 2b, City Tunnel No. 3, Bronx, New York

Shaft 13b, City Tunnel No. 3, New York, New York

City Tunnel Nol 3, Queens, New York

City Tunnel No. 3, Brooklyn, New York

New York City Water Tunnel No. 3 Ventilation Towers

City Tunnel No. 3 has been under construction since 1970 (for more information see my other post about the tunnel).  Each shaft has a ventilation tower.  Originally, the sidewalk entry door for each shaft, (some as deep as 1000 feet), was labelled with the shaft number.  These were removed after 9/11/01.  But they can still located by their distinctive ventilation towers.  The towers are not identical, but have a consistent style.  Once you've seen these you should be able to recognize others.

Shaft 14b, New York

Shaft 19b, Brooklyn

Shaft 16b, Queens

Shaft 23b, Brooklyn

Shaft 11b, New York

Shaft 20b, Brooklyn