The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today announced that it will open the grounds of Jerome Park Reservoir in the Bronx for special limited access recreation on the weekend of May 20 and 21 from 10am until 2pm. Members of the public will have the opportunity to walk or jog around the 2-mile perimeter of the Reservoir. Phones, bags and cameras will not be permitted on the Reservoir grounds. There will be an opportunity to check phones, but visitors should not bring bags or cameras. Access to the Reservoir Grounds will be through an entrance adjacent to the Gatehouse located on the west side of Goulden Avenue, just south of 205th Street.
In addition to the public recreation, DEP will continue its partnership with schools located in the vicinity of the Reservoir to provide a pilot education program about New York City’s drinking water system. This includes teacher professional development, classroom visits and guided, interpretive tours of the Reservoir grounds. Since the fall of 2015, so far, more than 2,000 students from Bronx H.S. of Science, DeWitt Clinton H.S., Discovery H.S., P.S. 8, P.S. 86, P.S. 95, AmPark Neighborhood School, and M.S. 244 have taken part in the program.
Jerome Park Reservoir is roughly 93-acres in size, has the capacity to hold up to 773 million gallons of water, and is located in the northwest Bronx. It receives water from the City’s Croton Watershed, located in Westchester and Putnam Counties, and is the last stop for the water before it enters the Croton Water Filtration Plant and goes into the City’s distribution system.
