I just finished reading The Works by Kate Ascher. If you’ve ever wondered about how NYC works— what’s under the streets, how clean water gets in the city and sewage is removed, how bananas get from Ecuador to the corner bodega, this is the book for you. Civil engineers focused on clean water and sanitary living conditions did more for health than modern medicine will ever dream about. If it weren’t for them and their commitment to the public’s health, we’d still be living in a very dismal world.
In fact, 24,000 children die every day in the developing world due to diarrhea from dirty water and unsanitary living conditions.
Did you know that 97% of water consumed by New Yorkers reaches you by gravity. As long as you don’t live higher than the 6th floor, chances are your water flows naturally from the reservoirs north of the city directly to your faucets…amazing.
