New York tap water could taste different starting today. Here’s why.

NEW YORK – New York City residents may notice that their drinking water tastes different starting Monday.

“New York City’s tap water is the envy of the world – that’s why we have the best pizza and bagels in the country,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement. “Today we launch the final phase of an 11-year project to secure the future of our water supply and ensure New Yorkers can continue to enjoy the billions of gallons of drinking water we use every day.”

The Delaware Aqueduct, which supplies half of the city’s piped water, will be temporarily shut down as part of a $2 billion project to fix massive leaks under the Hudson River.

To offset that, officials have increased capacity in other parts of the city’s 19-reservoir system. Even if the water supply is not interrupted, the famously crisp taste can change.

“The water will always be there,” said Paul Rush, deputy commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection. “We will be changing the mix of water that consumers receive.”

“While some residents may notice a temporary, subtle difference in taste or aroma during repairs, changes in taste do not mean there is something wrong with the water,” DEP Commissioner Rohit Aggarwala said in a statement. “Just as different brands of bottled water taste a little different, our different reservoirs taste a little different.”

What’s wrong with the Delaware Aqueduct?

The Delaware Aqueduct is the longest tunnel in the world, transporting water over 85 miles from four reservoirs in the Catskill region to other reservoirs in the city’s northern suburbs. In operation since 1944, it supplies about half of the 1.1 billion gallons per day consumed by more than 8 million New York City residents. The system also serves some upstate communities.

But the aqueduct releases up to 35 million gallons of water every day, almost all of it from a section well below the Hudson River.

The major leak has been known for decades, but city officials faced a dilemma: They couldn’t decommission the critical aqueduct for years to repair the tunnel. Instead, they began building a parallel 2.5-mile bypass tunnel under the river about a decade ago.

The new tunnel will be connected during the decommissioning, which is expected to last up to eight months. More than 40 miles of the aqueduct that descends from the four hinterland reservoirs will be out of service during this time, but a section closer to the city will remain in use.

Additional leaks further north in the aqueduct will also be repaired in the coming months.

NYC relies on northern reservoirs

Rush said the work was planned to avoid the summer months when demand is higher. The city has also spent years making improvements to other parts of the system, some of which are more than 100 years old.

“There’s a lot of thought going on about where the alternative supply is going to come from,” Rush said.

The capacity of the supplemental Catskill Aqueduct has been increased and more drinking water will come from the Croton Watershed’s dozen reservoirs and three lakes in the city’s northern suburbs.

Greater reliance on these suburban reservoirs could affect the taste of the water because more minerals and algae are present in the Croton system, city officials say.