Weekend Local Blogging — The Kensico Dam

 

Admittedly, I'm usually not one to celebrate dams and other violent interventions of human "civilization" upon nature's flow. But living where I do, the Kensico Dam looms undeniably as a towering feature of the local landscape, an awesome engineering feat, and an utterly pragmatic necessity.

Completed in 1917, the Kensico Dam stands 307 feet from foundation to top and is 1,843 feet long. The 30-billion-gallon balancing reservoir behind it supplies 1.3 billion gallons of high-quality drinking water every day to 8 million people in New York City (not counting tourists) and 1 million people in Westchester, Putnam, Orange, and Ulster counties. This massive collection and distribution system — flowing from the Croton, Catskill, and Delaware watersheds, spanning 2,000 square miles of minor reservoirs, aqueducts, tunnels, and water mains — provides 90% of NYC's water and operates almost entirely by force of gravity.

The granite for the dam's decorative stonework was excavated from a nearby quarry at Cranberry Lake Preserve and railroaded to the site. While they were at it, they also built an electric plant, a sand pit, a stone-crushing plant, plus housing and schools for workers and their families. More than 1,500 people (mostly of Italian descent) worked on the original project and settled in and around the Westchester town of Valhalla.

Basically, New York City would be imposssible without this monumental historic structure and its constant maintenance. It's something worth remembering the next time you turn on that city faucet and demand an immediate flow of clean mountain water.

Comments

[belledame222]

Wow. That is awesome. In the true sense of the word.

On a totally unrelated note, I saw this and thought of you, since you'd enjoyed the Weird Al Angry White Boy polka-fest. here he takes on Klassik Rawk. not really -as- funny, but still pretty funny, especially...well, you'll see. -I- thought.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pag45E_ihwY&mode=related&search=

[belledame222]

--wo, and another! Contemporary top of the pops. live, yet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydzDXd9d2ko&mode=related&search=

yes, i know. i am (white and) nerdy. very.

but goddam, he really -is- a fookin' genius. developing crush.

[belledame222]

oh. and here's another version of the video for "Angry White Boy Polka." this one just splices and dices the original videos. the cartoon one is funnier. although...y'know, seeing this one first and THEN the other one does make it that much funnier. (it's been ages since i've seen actual videos, for the most part; i grow old, i grow old, get those goddam kids offa my lawn).

and, well, what happened when the polka got layered on top of the "renegades of funk" vid, well, that made me laugh out loud. you'll see what i mean.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4W3cwRGhzE&NR

[Kai]

belledame222,

You made my day. That shit is freakin hilarious. I had no idea that polka rocked.

Peace.

[Nezua Limón Xolagrafik-Jonez]

man, what beautiful stone work.

i lived by a couple reservoirs that fed nyc, too. Neversink for one, and I have some amazing pics. i'm going to post them, now that i've seen yours. not today, but soon.