For over 100 years, water towers have been a seamless part of New York City’s skyline. So seamless, in fact, they often go unnoticed, usually overshadowed by their glassy supertall neighbors. While these wooden relics look like a thing of the past, the same water pumping structure is still built today, originating from just three family-run companies, two of which have been operating for nearly this entire century-long history.
And over the years, it’s become much more than just the functional object it was designed as. New Yorkers seem to literally have an emotional connection to water towers with a fervency that doesn’t seem to fade over time. Even though you’ve seen the water tower in brand logos and as art, the object has somehow withstood commodification (objects of trade of property).
When the Dutch settled New York City they found an island rich with waterways and natural streams. However, as the city’s industrial sector grew, so did its polluted waters. With no proper drainage system, standing pools of grime would form in the streets.
The harm of these unsanitary conditions was not revealed until a group of wealthy New Yorkers formed the Citizens Association of New York to focus on public health reform. After the group’s survey revealed dangerously unhygienic conditions, a campaign was launched to improve the quality of water and people’s access to it.
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The Department of Public Works was later founded in 1870 to improve the drainage system and access to water. During the 1880s, indoor plumbing began replacing well-drawn water, and roughly 50 years later, top-floor storage tanks started popping up all over the city. Tanks were placed on rooftops because the local water pressure was too weak to raise water to upper levels. When construction started to grow taller, the city required that buildings with six or more stories be equipped with a rooftop tank with a pump.
As the city's skyline continued to grow taller and taller, the iconic wooden water tanks had to follow suit, or nobody above the 6th floor in these high-rises would have access to fresh, clean water. New York's water supply is gravity fed from upstate New York.
Naturally, this gravity fed water gains enough momentum to rise 6 stories. Taller buildings, however, require a water tower to provide ample water pressure for New Yorker's living in floors 7 and above to enjoy life's simple pleasures like flushing a toilet, showering or brushing their teeth.
About 5,000 to 10,000 gallons of water can be stored in the tanks. The upper layer of water is used for everyday use, with water at the bottom reserved for emergencies. When the water drops below a certain level, an electric pump is triggered and the tank refills. Gravity sends water to pipes throughout the building from the roof. A water tank usually lasts roughly 30-35 years. It can be built within 24 hours and takes just two or three hours to fill with water.
There are approximately 15,000 water towers dotting New York City's rooftops. They are just as important today as they were 100 years ago. Not only do they provide daily water needs for those living in the buildings they serve, but the water they hold is also used to help extinguish fires when necessary.
Only three companies construct NYC’s wooden water tanks: Rosenwach Tank Company, Isseks Brothers, and American Pipe and Tank. All three are family-run, operating for at least three generations.
While the hand-made wooden tanks make us sentimental for older times, they’re actually the most effective for the water tank’s job. Even the city’s most luxurious buildings, like 15 Central Park West, for example, have wooden tanks. Rosenwach uses Western cedar for their tanks, a cheap, lightweight material. Water tanks are usually either made from yellow cedar or California redwood, although these materials have been harder and harder to come by for a good price. The pieces of the water tower are fabricated off-site, and then brought up in pieces through the stairs of a building. They’re often too big to fit into a freight elevator. The vertical pieces, called staves, are shaped to fit right into grooves on the wooden floorboard of a water tower which sit on top of a metal base.
Plus, wood is much better at moderating temperature than steel tanks. Steel tanks, while sometimes used, are more expensive, require more maintenance, and take more time to build. A wooden tank that can hold 10,000 gallons of water costs roughly $30,000. A steel tank of the same size can cost up to $120,000. And water stored in the wood will not freeze in the winter and stays cool during the hot summer months.
Eventually, the wood will rot and will need to be replaced after 30-35 years. Kenny Lewis, a Rosenwach foreman, explained the process of the tank infrastructure to amNY: “When you first set them up they leak, but when they fill [with water], the wood expands and becomes watertight. Then, it’s like a giant toilet. When people use the water, the level goes down. All ballcock lets more in, and that water is pumped from the basement.”
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Normal Water pressure from the city can only push water a few floors up in tall buildings. After, usually the 6th floor, gravity is too much, and upper floors will face a drop in pressure. Toilets won't flush , sinks won't flow, and it can be a real hazard.
To compensate for this, many taller buildings use additional pumps to push the water to higher floors - as these are placed in specific areas to keep pressure constant for all the water needs of a building - such as plumbing and fire protection.
However, for much very large buildings, many use a combination system of internal pumps on higher floors, and elevated water tanks which are filled regularly via pumps and then use gravity to help release the water as people need it.