Thoughts on Newtown Creek Water Treatment Plant

Growing up I always knew that the Newtown Creek Water Treatment Plant existed and it was relatively close to my neighborhood in Queens, but I never gave it much thought.  The closest I’ve ever been to it was when one of my friends made a wrong turn while driving. Neither of us knew what it was and we went about the rest of our day.  Looking back on this experience I’ve realized how lucky we are to live in a city where we are able to be so passive about water treatment.  We take the concept of clean water for granted, ignoring what it means to treat water and what it means for our usage.

After doing some research on the plant, I’ve learned that it is New York City’s largest water treatment plant, and on a daily basis, it treats around 310 million gallons of water.  This number more than doubles to 810 million gallons when it rains. It is responsible for water from Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens.  I find it incredibly ironic that the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment plant plays such a large role in the safety of our water, but the actual creek it is named for is incredibly polluted to the point where it is listed as a Superfund site.  The creek itself is home to Pesticides, PCBs and other toxins which are harmful to both humans and animals.

Aside from realizing the importance of water treatment and the seeming irony of the situation, I have also learned to take into account my own water usage.  Using a water footprint calculator, which lists the national average as 2,200 gallons day, I use approximately 1,500 gallons of water a day.  This does not just include showers and washing dishes, but it takes the number of clothes I buy, how much I drive (not at all), how much meat I eat, and other factors which contribute to water usage.  This makes me realize how much water is being used on a daily basis and makes me more mindful of conservation.