 In the early 1600s, the first residents of what was then known as New

Amsterdam got their water from springs, streams, and ponds.

 their numbers grew, the City’s early inhabitants began digging shallow
private wells and in the 1670s


water management

 In the early 1600s, the Dutch founded New York City,

 The first main source was the Kalch-Hook, or Collect Pond, a 48-acre springfed pond near
Franklin and Pearl Streets in lower Manhattan

 In 1667, shortly after the British seized New York from the Dutch, the first public well was dug in
front of the old fort at Bowling Green, located near Battery Park.. The well used a pump — the first in the
City’s history — to bring the water from underground.

 As population increased, the existing wells and ponds soon were unable to provide enough
water. With no system for disposing of sewage and garbage, human waste and trash polluted
waterways and the stone-lined wells dug to tap groundwater became contaminated by salt water from
the Hudson and East Rivers.

 o make up for the lack of safe clean drinking water in Manhattan, water was hauled from
Brooklyn in the early 1700s. Brooklyn had an excellent supply of fresh groundwater, but it was not
enough to meet New York City’s needs.