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The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, more commonly known as the Central Park Reservoir, is a decommissioned reservoir in Central Park in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The reservoir covers 106 acres (43 hectares) and holds over a billion gallons (4 million cubic meters) of water.[1] Though no longer used to distribute New York City's water supply, it provides water for the Pool[2] and the Harlem Meer, and it is a popular place of interest; there is a 1.577 mile[3] track around it for joggers, and it is also encircled by the bridle trail. It is often visited by tourists, especially when its double pink "Yoshino" cherries (Prunus x yedoensis),[4] followed by Prunus serrulata "Kwanzan" cherries, are blooming around the Reservoir. The rhododendrons along the "Rhododendron Mile" were a gift to the city from the recently widowed Mrs Russell Sage, in 1909. It is also one of the main ecological sanctuaries in the park, housing more than twenty species: aside from the familiar Mallard ducks and Canada Geese, there may be seen coots, loons, cormorants, wood ducks, grebes, herons and egrets, both in migration and overwintering, making it a favorite for birdwatchers.[5]
The reservoir was built between 1858 and 1862, to the design for Central Park of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux,[1] who designed its two pumphouses of Manhattan schist with granite facings. It was never a collecting reservoir; it was used to receive water from the Croton Aqueduct and distribute it to Manhattan.[6] After 131 years of service, it was decommissioned in 1993, after it was deemed obsolete because of a new main under 79th Street that connected with the Third Water Tunnel and because of growing concerns that it could become contaminated.[7] It was renamed after Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in 1994 to commemorate her contributions to the city, because she enjoyed jogging in the area,[8] which lay beneath the windows of her Fifth Avenue apartment.
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Panorama of the reservoir
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New York City's Water Supply System |
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Croton River, West Branch Croton River, Middle Branch Croton River, East Branch Croton River, Titicus River, Muscoot River, Cross River, Esopus Creek, Neversink River, Rondout Creek, Delaware River, East Branch Delaware River, West Branch Delaware River
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