No city believes in its exceptionalism quite like New York City. Whether they’re talking about corner stores or mayoral scandals, New Yorkers believe everything there is just better. Even the water claims an almost mythic status, with both locals and experts describing it as the “champagne of tap waters”.
New York tap water is unfiltered – the largest drinking water system in the US where this is the case. That’s because the water quality from the Catskills is high enough to meet state guidelines without the need for human-made filtration.
This could change this week, as repairs force the closure of a tunnel that provides much of the city’s supply.
At 85 miles long, the Delaware aqueduct is the longest tunnel in the world, and the source of the majority of New York City water. It’s currently leaking, so for the next eight months, the aqueduct’s water output will be cut in half while crews fix it.
The city’s contingency plan involves tapping into a supply from the Croton watershed, which spans counties located in the south-eastern portion of New York.
The city typically reserves this infrastructure as a backup supply, because it is not as clean as what flows from the Delaware aqueduct. This means it must be filtered, and will taste different once it reaches New Yorkers’ sinks.
“Just like different brands of bottled water taste a bit different, so do our different reservoirs,” the city’s department of environmental protection commissioner, Rohit T Aggarwala, said in a statement.
“Everyone feels that our tap water is not only a gift, but a right,” said Rae Zimmerman, a research professor and professor emerita of planning and public administration at NYU’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. “I think it’s very good. I use it in my tea and coffee.”
Martin Riese, a German TV personality and self-described “water sommelier”, has described Gotham’s tap water as “super refreshing, nice and cold like New York” on TikTok, saying: “It is almost like, there’s a slightly earthy feeling to it … very, very unique, smells like when you’re walking down in the forest.”
Victoria Leung is a staff attorney at Riverkeeper, an advocacy group for clean water based in New York who focuses on how New York City’s drinking water affects the communities located near its reservoirs. “One of the coolest things about New York City drinking water is that it’s largely unfiltered, so this is pristine water that’s coming from glaciers to reservoirs. How we’ve built these aqueducts that are hundreds of miles long is a marvel of engineering, and we have access to it just by the turn of a switch,” she said.
Though New York’s water is unfiltered, it is treated with chemicals such as chlorine, phosphoric acid and sodium hydroxide, which disinfects and raises pH levels. Since 1966, it has also contained fluoride, to prevent tooth decay.
When reached for comment, a representative for the city’s department of environmental protection (DEP) referred to a transcript from its press conference on the topic. “I want to assure New Yorkers are ready for this, and we have planned for every scenario,” said Aggarwala. “We have backup plans for basically every scenario.” Aggarwala said he could not be specific about these plans “for security reasons”, but said that “if worst comes to worst” the city could stop the project and go back to using the original aqueduct, “leaky as it is”.
Despite the repairs needed, according to the DEP, New York’s drinking water is still safe to consume.
“Any time you’re changing something about water treatment, you want to be really careful that you’re getting the science and engineering correct,” said Brian Rahm, director of the New York State Water Resources Institute at Cornell University. “That’s what happened in Flint, Michigan – they didn’t have the proper things in place, and you end up with a crisis.”
And what about the city’s beloved bagels and pizza, supposedly so delicious due to the secret ingredient of special city water? According to Food & Wine, that’s probably an urban legend. Though the city has “soft water”, which means low rates of calcium and magnesium – which means better for dough-making – experts tend to agree the water should not make a huge difference. Ultimately, New York pizza and bagels are better just because the city is home to the seasoned pros who make it.
Still, try telling that to New Yorkers who swear by their water’s perceived supremacy. Even the city’s embattled mayor, Eric Adams, took a break from FBI investigations to proselytize its taste. “Listen, our tap water is the envy of the entire globe,” he said during a press conference announcing the changes. “Even during the [UN general assembly] … national leaders, international leaders, talked about how clean and fresh our water is.”
