Waterworks: The Hidden Water System of New York

Waterworks, an exploration of New York City’s water supply and wastewater treatment systems, was originally published in 2003. This new and expanded edition is a complete reworking of the book, featuring 362 photographs made between 1992 and 2024, and two new large folded insert maps. Greenberg visited reservoirs, aqueducts, tunnels, gatehouses, water supply and sewer pumping stations, water tanks, wastewater treatment plants, stormwater retention facilities and maintenance covers throughout the watershed and around the city. The maps identify over 400 sites in the system, from upstate reservoirs to abandoned systems and tunnel shaft sites. In the late 1990s, Greenberg received unprecedented access to photograph the system, which made much of this work possible. After 9/11, all facilities were closed to the public. Since then, Greenberg located hundreds of sites in plain view but largely unknown and unidentified; anonymous street furniture invisible to most people.The book and map — a field guide for anyone called to their own exploration — show a mostly underground and hidden system. The map is based on field investigations and historical documents and is designed by Greenberg and Larry Buchanan.Stanley Greenberg (b. Brooklyn, NY) has been photographing the built environment since the early 1980s. He is the author of Invisible New York, Olmsted Trees, Springs and Wells, CODEX: New York, Time Machines, and Under