Water Talks: Inside DEP with Commissioner Aggarwala

Join Open House New York and the Design Trust for Public Space for a talk by Rohit T. Aggarwala, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Environmental Protection. Following the talk, infrastructure expert Kate Ascher will join Commissioner Aggarwala in conversation.

Most New Yorkers unknowingly begin each day by interacting with the city’s Department of Environmental Protection (NYC DEP). Whenever city residents turn on a tap or flush a toilet, they are using a vast and largely unseen network of pipes, tunnels, and other facilities that handle drinking water delivery and wastewater treatment – all managed by NYC DEP.

This infrastructure operates behind the scenes to deliver more than one billion gallons of clean drinking water to New Yorkers’ taps each day through more than 7,000 miles of water mains. This water, renowned for its delicious taste, comes from large upstate reservoirs – some more than 125 miles from NYC – spread across 1.2 million acres of protected watershed. NYC’s sewers handle another 1.3 billion gallons of wastewater and stormwater daily through a separate system of 7,400 miles of pipes and 14 wastewater resource recovery facilities.

With extreme weather events becoming more common, NYC DEP is also responsible for implementing key goals of PlaNYC: Getting Sustainability Done, the city’s 2023 climate action plan. Major climate hazards such as coastal storm surges, tidal flooding, and extreme rainfall are projected to increase dramatically in the coming decades and will disproportionately impact communities of color and low-income residents. NYC DEP is preparing to handle more stormwater than ever before and now oversees NYC’s coastal resilience efforts to address the risks faced by the most vulnerable New Yorkers.

As Open House New York launches the newest installment of its Urban Systems series, Water Works, and the Design Trust for Public Space launches its 13th call for projects under the theme of Water, the organizations are jointly sponsoring a talk by Rohit T. Aggarwala, NYC DEP Commissioner and the City’s Chief Climate Officer. Commissioner Aggarwala will discuss what it takes to operate and maintain the city’s water infrastructure and some of the projects the agency is undertaking to ensure water quality and manage severe weather events for the protection of all New Yorkers.

Following the Commissioner’s talk, he will be joined by infrastructure expert Kate Ascher, Milstein Professor of Urban Development at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation and author of The Works: Anatomy of a City, for a conversation about the future of NYC’s water systems.

This program is part of Water Works, a new yearlong series exploring the city’s water systems and our connections to water. The series is produced with lead agency partner NYC Department of Environmental Protection and with support from the National Endowment for the Arts. This program is produced in collaboration with the Design Trust for Public Space.

For more program details, visit https://ohny.org/activity/inside-dep

A limited number of community tickets are available for nonprofit organizations serving low-income communities in New York City and students and teachers at New York City schools. Community tickets are pay what you can, with a suggested donation of $5 per ticket. To request community tickets, please complete this form.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

SVA Theatre, 333 West 23rd Street, New York, United States