Why the Longest Tunnel in the World Leads to New York City - IT'S HISTORY

@6:12 your narration on Lead being Plumbum was perfect. the symbol for lead as you know is Pb. You had no messup!!

My step dad was one of the sand hogs who worked on the Ashokan tunnel to New York City pre WWII. He had alot of great stories about some of the rock and minerals they cut through, including huge quartz crystals, some of which went to the NY Museum of Natural History.

I’m surprised you didn’t mention the ongoing tunnel project called water tunnel 3. It’sa huge 100km tunnel built very deep under the city and will replace the older tunnel 1. It started around 1970 and not expected to be complete until 2026.

You've done a great job on the water of NYC....now how about the garbage....like the Fresh Kills Landfill!

I have lived in NYC for 20 years and always been in a 5 story building, always enjoying that gravity fed water. One of my early confronting moments about the value of this idea was during the 2003 blackout - everything was out… but my walkup building in Yorkville, on the 5th floor in the heat of august had cool upstate water flowing. Stupid selfish I know… but as a NYC sycophant… keep these NYC history videos coming. I literally dream of what you might do next. They are all so so so great for a local… again, selfish I know. But there are a lot of us… so collective selfishness? For those New Yorkers who will find this in the future…? I’m sticking to it - keep the NYC history coming!

I'm a former Chase employee and it's funny that I think it's now 30 years since the bank has been called Chase Manhattan today it is called JPMorgan Chase. Chase recognizes the fact that among its heritage Banks in the past it goes back to the Manhattan company and in the corporate headquarters there is an example of a hollowed out log that was used for distributing water. Not to mention the guns that were used in the Alexander Hamilton Aaron Burr duel.

The symbol for Chase Manhattan Bank is actually a wooden pipe chase. The lake inside of Central Park was originally a reservoir and was at one time to be filled in, but the city residents spoke out against that and it remains a lake today. City police officers annually dive and search of that lake to recover guns, bicycles and other items that have been thrown in it. The reservoirs in upstate New York are guarded by NYC Police Officers. I remember seeing photographs of the inside of the first aqueduct when they were able to close it down for maintenance after over one hundred fifty years of continuous service. I believe the current want supply enters the city an a large cavernous facility 4 stores underground. Hasn’t another even larger water tunnel been dug and placed into service.

Flash Back 10years and I was doing a Street Restoration job in Brooklyn and found the original Wood and Lead lined piping STILL serving 8 houses in Brooklyn! Spent 25 years doing Civil/Structural engineering in NYC!

The level of mastery we have attained in getting clean water to people in cities is one of the most magnificent achievements of the modern world. It might be true that in ancient Rome there was more water being brought into the city per person but just how clean that water was, well, likely not the greatest. It is not like keeping water clean is not an ongoing issue as well, in my own little city, around 30+ years ago there was a dry cleaner who just dumped their chemicals out their back door (more or less literally) and the water has slowly been leeching down the side of the valley it is on. In the area where this is a problem, even though it is a place that has sewers, the city never ran water lines to many of the roads there. So people have well water and many of these houses either have expensive filtration equipment or they have to bring their drinking water in from elsewhere (though well water here is still safe enough for showering). (this is in Connecticut btw)

My grandfather worked on the Ashokan dam. My mother grew up only a mile or two from the dam in Stone Ridge NY. It’s still a beautiful place to go to, antique shops, lots of history, apple picking, we’ve made our yearly family “pilgrimage” there for as long as I can remember.

If my math is right... 13 inches per mile is 0.25 of an inch every 104'-2". That's pretty impressive!

wonderful broadcast quality doc...well conceived, well executed!

Could you do a video about the location of the Croton Reservoir and the connection between the Jerome family and Winston Churchill.? I worked there and we found buried brick walls from the Jerome Race Track buried about 12 below grade.

As usual, Ryan, very well done

I'm a water treatment plant operator. I love videos like this relating the history of potable water conveyance and infrastructure.

I already learned most of this information from Jerry Parks, the truck driver, in Die Hard 3.

Another awesome episode!

Keep up the good work dude nice video

An excellent documentary on the astonishing story of the NYC water supply (one of my favorite topics to contemplate, especially when visiting the Catskills). The most important fact is stated at the end: that gravity is what brings the water to the city. There of course were engineering challenges, but the supply is a stroke of good luck, as is NYC period! The topography made all this possible. When I stand at the Ashokan Reservoir each year, I am amazed at the fact that this water will eventually be in my home!

Excellent video!