A look inside the sidewalk stations that test the East Village’s drinking water

Photos and interview by Stacie Joy

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, while walking with a visiting relative of a friend, I was asked about a series of sidewalk-based metal structures on lower First Avenue. 

I knew they were municipal water-quality testing stations, but I had no idea how they worked. 

Needing to know more, I contacted the NYC Department of Environmental Protection's Bureau of Public Affairs and started asking for information — and a peek at the sampling process. 

First Deputy Director of Water Quality Salome Freud and press secretary Rob Wolejsza shared the date and time of the next scheduled sampling at that station, and they agreed to allow photos and questions about the process. 

We met at station number 30150 on First Avenue near Third Street on a cold, wet, and windy early-winter morning, complete with atmospheric fog, and to the curiosity of passersby, many of whom stopped to watch for a bit. 

We were joined by water ecology scientist Amy Murphy, who conducted the tests and was endlessly patient with my requests for clarification and results.

After the sampling was done, a NYC DEP spokesperson signed off on the interview and provided the test results for the neighborhood's water. 

How many sampling stations are there in the city, and in the East Village/Lower East Side? 

There are approximately 1,000 drinking water sampling stations located throughout New York City. There are 15 stations located in the East Village/Lower East Side neighborhoods. 

There are three sampling stations in close proximity on First Avenue between Houston and Fourth Streets. Why are there three grouped together, and why did you select the (middle) one you sampled from today? 

The purpose of having three sampling stations is to meet the requirements of the Revised Total Coliform Rule, which states that when an initial sample is positive for coliform bacteria, we must go back and resample within 24 hours from the original location, as well as at sites within five service connections upstream and downstream. Having more than one station at a site also gives us options when the REG (regular station)/middle station is inaccessible for any reason. 

You mentioned these sampling stations have been here for many years. How long have they been on the streets, and how are they made and maintained? What happens if they are damaged? 

The stations were installed back in 1996. The shells of the stations are cast iron with interior plumbing components and are maintained by DEP personnel. When we receive reports from the public through 311 that a sampling station is damaged, we coordinate with DEP plumbers to perform repairs. 

We also coordinate to get them painted and have used DEP and DOT personnel to accomplish that. [Reporter's note — there was some discussion about how the stickered and street-art decorated sampling stations here are uniquely East Village-y.] 

OK, to the good stuff: Can you walk us through the stages of sampling, from arrival to departure? And discuss what, specifically, you are testing for? 

Once an inspector arrives at a sampling station, they inspect that it is operational by opening it up and running the water. Initial observations of color and clarity are performed, and readings are taken for pH and specific conductance, and then the water is turned off, and the tap is disinfected for a minute or two. 

The water is then turned back on, and the tap is flushed before we take additional field readings and collect samples. Specifically, we test the drinking water for the following parameters in the field: pH, temperature, specific conductance and chlorine.

The collected samples are brought back to our distribution water-quality laboratory, where additional testing is performed, including coliform bacteria and basic chemistry, as well as metals and organics analyses.

Can you share the results from today's sampling? How does the East Village's water supply look?

The results of the samples collected from this site were:

 

pH 7.11 

Specific conductance 348 

Temperature 6.7 C 

Chlorine 0.41 ppm 

Coliform bacteria/E /E. coli: negative 

The readings from this site were what we normally expect and in keeping with the high-quality drinking water that we see throughout the distribution system. 

We'd been told our water comes from the Ashokan Reservoir/the (mighty) Esopus Creek upstate. Is that correct? 

This is partially correct as the drinking water supply for NYC actually consists of three watersheds: Catskill, Delaware and Croton. And those watersheds are made up of 19 reservoirs, one being the Ashokan. The water at the sample station we visited was a mix of all three watersheds. 

Where can people learn more about water quality, testing, and supply? 

 For more information about NYC's drinking water, refer to our website and our NYC Drinking Water Supply and Quality Report.

H/t to Ellen and a thank-you to H. for helping set this up.