Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning& Preservation, 2023
Located 73 miles north from New York City, Ashokan Reservoir supplies constant freshwater to New York City. Ashokan Reservoir is one of six reservoirs owned by New York City in the Catskills/ Delaware watershed system which also includes: Cannonsville, Pepacton, Neversink, Roundout, and Schoharie. The Catskills/ Delaware watershed covers 1597 square miles of upstate New York. Additionally, New York City also owns the area that covers the Croton watershed (375 square miles). Today the Catskills/ Delaware watershed provides ninety percent of drinking water to the 8.46 million residents of New York City. Through water, the residents of New York City are physically linked to the community of Ulster County. However, this is a relationship of imbalanced extraction. Starting from the construction of the first reservoir in the Catskills (Ashokan) a dispute over resources was already in place. Before water, the land on which to construct the reservoir was the matter in question. After land, the resources including the physical material and labor were in question. The creation of the reservoir is bound to a multitude of extractions of the natural resources around Ulster county, specifically the stone surrounding the reservoir. Furthermore, the construction of the reservoir requires excavation not only on the site of the Ashokan but also the site where the resources are extracted.
This project is a reaction to the extensive claiming of resources in creation of the reservoir, the impacts socially and environmentally, and reparations for the community surrounding the reservoir.