The state of New York has 17 defined watersheds. A watershed, also referred to as a drainage basin, is a section of land that drains into a body of water, like lakes, rivers, seas, reservoirs, oceans or estuaries. Hills, mountains or ridges separate watersheds. Everyone in the state lives in a watershed. Collectively, these bodies of water and the various uses of water in the state affect the entire available water supply.
New York state encompasses more than 7,600 freshwater ponds, lakes, reservoirs and two of the Great Lakes -- Erie and Ontario. These bodies of water offer a home for marine life and plants. In addition, some bodies of water provide opportunities for recreation, such as sailing, fishing, swimming and numerous water sports. Additionally, the bodies of water situated inland supply drinking water to numerous cities throughout the entire state.
The largest unfiltered water supply in the U.S. sits in New York City. The drinking water supply system offers about 1.2 billion gallons of water to approximately one-half the New York state population daily. People who drink the water include 8 million residents of New York City and 1 million residents of Putman, Ulster, Orange and Westchester counties.
The people of New York use the water in a variety of ways, such as drinking, watering livestock, industrial use, irrigation, thermoelectric power generation and mining. Approximately 17 percent of water in New York state goes to public water usage, such as washing clothing, showering, cooking and watering lawns, while about 80 percent goes to thermoelectric power. Additionally, more than 15 billion gallons of water come from the lakes, streams, rivers and groundwaters of the state daily, notes the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Most of the water in New York meets the state and federal drinking water standards prior to filtration. Additionally, the water supplied by the New York City Watershed has constantly won taste tests, beating other New York State Watershed suppliers, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
