How NYC Actually Gets Water: Gravity, Tunnels, and Tiny Shrimp How It Actually Works

I always thought getting water was simple. You turn the tap, and water comes out.

But then I looked into how New York City actually gets its water, and my jaw hit the floor.

It is not just "pipes." It is one of the craziest engineering machines humans have ever built. It is a system that uses gravity to move 1 billion gallons of water a day without using pumps.

Most people don't know the complicated process required for New York City to obtain drinking water.

Here is the breakdown of how it works, and the weird secrets nobody tells you.

1. It Falls From the Sky (Gravity Fed System)

This is the most shocking part.

Most cities have to pump water out of a river and push it uphill. That costs a lot of electricity.

NYC is different. The water starts in reservoirs in the Catskill Mountains, 125 miles away. Because the mountains are high up, the water just... falls.

According to the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, it flows downhill through massive aqueducts (tunnels) all the way to the city.

By the time it hits New York, it has so much speed and pressure from gravity that it can shoot up to the 6th floor of a building without any pumps. If you live on the 5th floor or lower, nature is delivering your water.

2. The Water is Unfiltered (Yes, Really)

If you buy a bottle of water, it says "filtered" five times on the label.

But NYC tap water? It is unfiltered.

It is the largest unfiltered water system in the United States. The water from the Catskill and Delaware watersheds is so clean and protected by forests that the EPA granted NYC a special waiver called a "Filtration Avoidance Determination."

They just treat it with UV light and chlorine to kill germs. That is why they call it the "Champagne of Tap Water." It tastes like natural mountain water because it is.

3. The "Shrimp" In Your Glass

Okay, this is the part that freaks people out.

Because the water is not filtered, there are tiny, microscopic creatures in it called copepods.

They are basically invisible freshwater shrimp. Scientific sources like Gizmodo and Time have covered this extensively. These little guys are harmless and actually eat the bad bacteria in the water. They are good for you.

But because they are technically "shellfish," some Orthodox Jewish communities have to filter their water specially because these tiny shrimp might not be Kosher.

4. The Secret Tunnels (Tunnel No. 3)

Underneath the city, there are three giant water tunnels.

• Tunnel No. 1 (Opened in 1917)

• Tunnel No. 2 (Opened in 1936)

• Tunnel No. 3 (Started in 1970... and still not done)

Tunnel No. 3 is one of the biggest construction projects in NYC history. It is more than 60 miles long and sits 500 feet underground.

According to Wikipedia's timeline of the project, it won't be fully finished until around 2032. Once it is done, they can finally turn off Tunnels 1 and 2 to fix them. They have been running non-stop for 100 years.

5. The Massive Leak

Right now, there is a crisis happening that few people talk about.

The Delaware Aqueduct, which carries half of the city's water, is leaking. It leaks up to 35 million gallons of water every single day.

The city launched a massive Delaware Aqueduct Repair Project to fix it. They built a bypass tunnel 600 feet under the Hudson River.

It is incredibly hard to fix. They actually had to pause the final shutdown recently because of drought conditions. It is a constant battle between fixing the pipe and keeping the water flowing.

Conclusion

Next time you fill a glass of water in New York, look at it for a second.

That water didn't just come from a pipe.

It traveled 125 miles downhill, dodged a massive leak, zoomed through a secret tunnel 500 feet underground, and carried a few invisible helper shrimp right into your cup.

What do you think?

Does knowing there are "invisible shrimp" in the water make you want to filter it, or do you trust the "Champagne" reputation?