Start here for important information about how to use this podcast tour; a land acknowledgement; and a couple of interesting things to notice along the way. If you're taking this tour in person, please visit ⁠walkingthewatershed.com/podcasttour/listen.html⁠ to download a printed map, transcripts, accessibility info, and other important information.

Most New York City residents don't know where their water comes from (except from out of the tap!) Your tour guide, Lize Mogel, gives a little bit of the backstory to NYC's drinking water, 90% of which comes from the Catskills, 100+ miles from the City. New York City and the Catskills are physically and socially connected by water, but their relationship has a complicated history...

If you're taking this tour in person, you can play this episode anywhere. Please visit ⁠walkingthewatershed.com/podcasttour/listen.html⁠ to download a printed map, transcripts, accessibility info, and other important information.

As New York City grew, so did its need for clean water. So city leaders decided to tap the Esopus Creek in the Catskills. The construction of the Catskills System— the Ashokan and Schoharie reservoirs and the Catskill Aqueduct— displaced thousands of people through eminent domain, uprooting tight-knit rural communities and causing generational bitterness towards the City. This episode features historian Diane Galusha, author of Liquid Assets: A History of New York City's Water System. (Episode recorded in 2021)

If you're taking this tour in person, please play this episode at the ⁠Ashokan Reservoir Promenade, East Parking Lot⁠ (the "Frying Pan"). This site is paved and is wheelchair accessible.

Please visit ⁠walkingthewatershed.com/podcasttour/listen.html⁠ to download a printed map, transcripts, accessibility info, and other important information.