New York City drought reveals rarely seen wall in Central Park Reservoir

A record-breaking drought in New York City has revealed a wall in a Central Park reservoir that was previously underwater.

At 106 acres, the Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, also known as the Central Park Reservoir, covers roughly 12 percent of the park’s area, according to centralpark.org. At 40 feet deep, it holds 1 billion gallons of water. It previously served as the city’s source for drinking water but has since been decommissioned.

A weir stretching across the reservoir is usually hidden, but recent drought has revealed it, the New York Post reported. The divider has been visible in the past, but usually because of construction work, according to the report.

This is the first time drought has revealed the wall, the report said. Water levels are 2 feet below normal because of the drought that has parched the city.

Several posts shared across social media also drew attention to the revealed wall.

“An unexpected effect of the drought is seen in the Central Park Reservoir, where a typically hidden middle divider is now visible. Cant remember ever seeing it. Makes you realize the reservoir is actually 2 bodies of water,” one user posted on X, formerly Twitter.

“You might have noticed the Central Park Reservoir looks a little different in recent days,” another account shared.

Last month was Central Park’s driest on record at only .01 inches of rain. So far this month, at 1.75 inches of rain through Thursday, Central Park is .68 inches below average. For the season, which began September 1, Central Park is 7.78 inches below average, NWS meteorologist James Tomasini told Newsweek. There are rain chances through the rest of Friday, as well as early next week.

The dry spell is also impacting snow totals, as typically Central Park sees its first snowflakes by Halloween or Veterans Day. However, no snow has fallen, meaning Hawaii has received more snow this season than New York City.

According to the most recent drought monitor map, only 8.5 percent of the state was free from drought, with all of New York City battling severe drought.

Earlier this week, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Rohit Aggarwala elevated the citywide drought watch to a drought warning for the first time since 2002.

Various protocols were issued with the warning to conserve water in an effort to slow the depletion of the city’s reservoirs, the city said in a press release.

The dry weather contributed to a slew of fires across the Northeast earlier this fall, including hundreds of brush fires in New York City and neighboring New Jersey.