The New Croton aqueduct, built roughly parallel to the Old Croton aqueduct was constructed to provide a large steady water supply

Water supply

Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavours or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes...

 for New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. The aqueduct

Aqueduct

An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....

 opened on July 15, 1890. It runs from the New Croton reservoir

New Croton Reservoir

The New Croton reservoir is a narrow reservoir in Westchester County, New York, lying approximately north of New York City, for which the reservoir supplies water. It is the collecting point for water from all reservoirs in the Croton Watershed....

 in Westchester County to the Jerome Park Reservoir

Jerome Park Reservoir

The Jerome Park Reservoir is located in Jerome Park, a neighborhood in the North Bronx, New York City. It was built in 1906 to serve the Croton Aqueduct as part of the New York City water supply system....

 in The Bronx

The Bronx

The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...

, from which it distributes water

Water

Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...

 to certain areas of the Bronx and Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

 before emptying into Tunnel 1 of the Catskill/Delaware System. Due to numerous water quality

Water quality

Water quality is the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water. It is a measure of the condition of water relative to the requirements of one or more biotic species and or to any human need or purpose. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which...

 issues, a filtration plant, the Croton filter plant, is being constructed within Van Cortlandt Park

Van Cortlandt Park

Van Cortlandt Park is a park located in the Bronx in New York City. It is the fourth largest park in New York City, behind Pelham Bay Park, Flushing Meadows Park and Staten Island Greenbelt....

 to improve water quality. Because of these quality problems, the Croton system is often bypassed or mixed with water from the Catskill Aqueduct

Catskill Aqueduct

The Catskill Aqueduct, part of the New York City water supply system, brings water from the Catskill Mountains to Yonkers where it connects to other parts of the system.-History:Construction commenced in 1907...

 and/or Delaware Aqueduct

Delaware Aqueduct

The Delaware Aqueduct is the newest of the New York City aqueducts. It takes water from the Rondout Reservoir through the Chelsea Pump Station, the West Branch Reservoir, and the Kensico Reservoir, ending at the Hillview Reservoir in Yonkers, New York....

.