North End Recirculation System

Reducing Flooding and Saving Water in Central Park’s North End

The system of scenic water bodies created by Central Park's designers, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, is a defining feature of the Park's north end.

The Pool, Loch, and Harlem Meer were originally constructed as an interconnected water system between 1862 and 1865. They were largely filled with water from the Croton Aqueduct, which flowed through the Park before eventually exiting into a City sewer along Fifth Avenue.

Today, the Park’s water bodies face different challenges than Olmstead and Vaux could have predicted back in the nineteenth century.

The Lasting Impact of Recirculation

Several years ago, the Central Park Conservancy and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) began to explore the possibility of water recirculation in the Park’s lakes and ponds to conserve potable water and reduce outflow to the City’s sewers.

The project is expected to save a significant amount of potable water—up to 500,000 gallons per day, or 175 million gallons of drinking water per year—and keep approximated 132 million gallons of stormwater out of the City’s sewers during rain events. The system will also improve water quality by reducing nutrients that contribute to harmful algal blooms.

“By conserving drinking water, managing stormwater during and after major storms and improving water quality, we are creating a system that will benefit the Park and surrounding communities for generations to come,” said Betsy Smith, President and CEO of the Central Park Conservancy.

How Recirculation Works

The new system will recirculate water among the Harlem Meer, the Loch and the Pool. During dry weather, water will be diverted from the Meer and pumped south of the Pool before flowing back through the system by gravity.

When a major storm is forecast, the system will lower the Meer’s water level in advance, creating capacity to capture incoming rainfall. As the storm arrives, rainwater will naturally refill the Meer and the other waterbodies. Once conditions return to normal, the system will resume its regular recirculation process.

It’s estimated that the recirculation system will reduce stormwater flows to City sewers by 90%, helping prevent the combined sewer system serving the park and surrounding neighborhoods from becoming overwhelmed during heavy rainfall.

This project continues Conservancy’s transformation of the Park’s north end. In 2025, the Conservancy opened the Davis Center at the Harlem Meer, replacing the former Lasker Rink and Pool with a four-season recreation center integrated into the Park’s landscape and re-establishing the historic watercourse running from the Ravine into the Meer.

The Conservancy is also restoring the Harlem Meer Shoreline, and recent construction is underway connecting the Davis Center to the Conservatory Garden.

The new recirculation system will reduce the park’s reliance on the city’s drinking water supply to replenish three water bodies: the Pool, the Loch and the Harlem Meer.

Construction began in September 2026, and the project is expected to be completed in fall 2028.