Turn on the tap, and water flows without a second thought. But deep beneath New York City, hundreds of feet below street level, workers are finishing a project that’s been under construction for more than half a century — a massive water tunnel that will help keep that simple act possible for generations to come.
Tunnel No. 3, as it’s known, is one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in the city’s history.
When complete, it will ensure New Yorkers continue to receive clean water from upstate reservoirs — some more than 125 miles away — while allowing long-overdue maintenance on the city’s two older tunnels, built in 1917 and 1936.
City Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Rohit Aggarwala and DEP Portfolio Manager Lauren D’Attile recently took an elevator nearly 800 feet down to see the progress for themselves.
“It’s not quite as far down as the Empire State Building is tall, but it’s getting there,” Aggarwala said during the 10-minute descent.
Down below, flashlights cut through the darkness as water dripped from the rock walls. Workers stood in waterproof boots along the cool, damp concrete — the result of decades of digging, drilling and sealing off bare rock to create a watertight tunnel system.
“When this tunnel was originally constructed, it was built by a tunnel boring machine, which is a very large piece of equipment with cutter heads on the front,” said D’Attile. “We drill the tunnel and after that we line that bare rock with a couple of feet of concrete — so that’s what you’re seeing now, because this tunnel is complete.”
Construction on Tunnel No. 3 began in 1970.
The Bronx and Manhattan already receive water from it, and the final phase — extending service to Brooklyn and Queens — is expected to be completed by 2032.
“The project started in 1970, it will be finished in 2032 — that’s 62 years to build this thing,” Aggarwala said. “But a project like this is going to serve New York for two, three hundred years, who knows how much longer than that. Seems worth it. Totally worth it. It’s what makes the city work because we are constantly investing in our future.”
When it’s complete, the DEP will finally be able to take the older tunnels offline for repairs — a step city engineers have waited decades to take.
Above ground, New Yorkers will keep turning on their faucets, washing dishes, and filling glasses — rarely thinking about the billion gallons of water flowing through the underground arteries that make city life possible.