Jamaica Water Supply Company (JWS) and NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)

Map of NYC Water Tunnels & Distribution Areas

NYC's Grounwater System
Some New Yorkers still drink groundwater during certain times. NYC's groundwater system  is located in southeastern Queens and covers an area of approximately 5.5 square miles.  The neighborhoods connected to the groundwater system include: Cambria Heights, Hollis, Holliswood, Jamaica, Kew Gardens, Queens Village, Richmond Hill, St. Albans, South Jamaica, and South Ozone Park. When it is operational, the groundwater system provides drinking water to fewer than 100,000 people in New York City. Residents within the system receive groundwater or a mix of ground and surface waters depending on demand and supply availability.  However, in 2010, none of the wells in New York City’s groundwater system were operational.

What is groundwater?
Groundwater is water that comes from the ground, it comes from rain, snow, rain containing some ice, and pellets of frozen rain that soaks into the ground. The water moves down into the ground because of gravity, passing between particles of soil, sand, gravel, or rock until it reaches a depth where the ground is filled with water. Most groundwater is clean but it can be polluted (see below video).

Sources
groundwater.org.  What is groundwater?.

Queens Crap.  City wants to use Queens groundwater again.