Is Tap Water Safe to Drink in New York City?
Yes, tap water in New York City is safe to drink and is widely regarded as some of the best municipal water in the country, sourced from a vast protected watershed in the Catskill and Delaware regions.
Water Source
NYC DEP supplies over a billion gallons a day from the Catskill/Delaware and Croton watersheds, a network of 19 reservoirs largely delivered by gravity, making it one of the largest unfiltered municipal water supplies in the world.
EPA Compliance Status
Meets all federal Safe Drinking Water Act standards; operates under an EPA filtration avoidance determination for the Catskill/Delaware system due to an extensive, decades-long watershed protection program.
Notable Contaminants & Context
- •Legacy lead service lines in older buildings (especially pre-1961 construction) remain the primary concern; the city adjusts water chemistry for corrosion control and runs an active free-testing and replacement program
- •No significant source-water concerns given the protected watershed
How It Compares
NYC's unfiltered system is one of the largest of its kind in the world, alongside Boston, Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco — a small club of cities whose source water is clean enough to skip full filtration.
Tips
- •Free lead testing kits are available through NYC DEP for residents concerned about older buildings
- •Running the tap for 30 seconds flushes standing water from older lines
- •NYC tap water is famously credited as part of what makes the city's bagels and pizza dough distinctive