The Jerome Park Reservoir. Image Credit: NYC DEP.
Approximately 10 percent of the City’s drinking water passes through the reservoir daily. On February 7, 2022, the Department of Environmental Protection announced the completion of infrastructure upgrades at Jerome Park Reservoir in the Bronx. The project cost $15.7 million, and work started in 2018.
The Jerome Park Reservoir was completed in 1905. The 94 acre reservoir receives water from the Croton Water Supply System through the New Croton Aqueduct, and holds up to 770 million gallons of water. Infrastructure upgrades were added in the 2000s and early 2010s, including the connection to the Croton Water Filtration Plant, which began operations in 2015. Approximately 10 percent of the City’s drinking water passes through the Jerome Park Reservoir daily.
The work on the reservoir included installing new fencing and security infrastructure, and rehabilitating the gatehouses that control waterflow in the reservoir. Gatehouses No. 5 and 7, connected to the Croton Water Filtration Plant, were cleaned, repaired and repointed, and the roof on Gatehouse No. 7 was replaced. New doors and security systems were installed. Above-ground structures at the remaining three gatehouses were deconstructed, with brick and limestone elements salvaged for reuse at new electrical enclosures. Historically appropriate lighting and railings were added, modeled on those at the Central Park and Ridgewood Reservoirs.
The perimeter of the reservoir also received work. Weeds and brush were removed, and new vehicular guardrails were installed along the maintenance and operations path. The interior 10-foot high fence along the edge of the basin was replaced with a four-foot high fence to improve views and operational access. New security cameras and traffic-control bollards were also installed.
DEP will begin a $38 million project to improve structural components of the reservoir later this year. The eastern wall of the reservoir will be repaired and stabilized, the retaining wall between the reservoir and the Lehman College parking lot and the dry-laid stone wall at the south end of the reservoir will be rehabilitated. New asphalt roadways around the reservoir will be laid. The project is expected to take four years.
DEP Chief Operations Officer Vincent Sapienza stated, “The $15.7 million investment in Jerome Park reservoir will help to ensure the long-term function of our water supply infrastructure. With more structural work on the horizon at Jerome Park Reservoir, we remain committed to working with our neighbors in the Bronx while carrying out these essential projects that will allow us to fulfill our critical mission of delivering a reliable supply of high-quality water to 8.8 million New Yorkers.”
By: Veronica Rose (Veronica is the CityLaw fellow and a New York Law School graduate, Class of 2018.)