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The street, from the start · How this atlas is made

WWater · overview

Water in your NYC building, from street main to tap

NYC water questions start with your building: the owner holds the DEP account and the service line, and tall buildings add a roof tank between the main and your tap.

Compiled by Building by Building · plate checked 11 Nov 2026

Round wooden water tanks on steel legs sitting on the roofs of brick and stone buildings
Rooftop water tanks among masonry buildings, New York City.

The plates in this section

  1. W-1How is a NYC water and sewer bill worked out?A NYC water and sewer bill multiplies metered use in hundreds of cubic feet by $13.86 (FY2027), or, for apartment buildings in the conservation program, a flat $1,412.60 per unit a year.
  2. W-2Does your NYC building have a lead service line?NYC lead service lines belong to the property owner from the street main to the building, and DEP replaces them free only for owners it invites by letter.
  3. W-3How do you use NYC's free lead test kit?NYC’s free lead test kit is ordered through 311, arrives within 10 business days, and tests water that has sat in your own pipes for about six hours.
  4. W-4Who checks the water tank on your NYC roof?NYC roof water tanks must be inspected, with a bacteria sample, every calendar year, and the owner’s inspector must file the results with DOHMH by January 15.
  5. W-5How good is the tap water in your NYC building?NYC tap water quality starts upstate: soft water, about 2 grains per gallon, lightly chlorinated, and changed on the way only by your building’s own tank and pipes.

Water reaches every New York building the same way: a city main in the street, a service line the property owner is responsible for, a meter where that line comes through the wall, then the building’s own pipes. What changes from a prewar walk-up to a co-op tower is who gets the bill, whether a tank sits on the roof, and how old the pipes inside are. The five pages below take each piece in turn.

Who pays, and how is the bill worked out?

The New York City Water Board sets one citywide rate. From July 1, 2026, water is $5.35 and sewer $8.51 for every 100 cubic feet, $13.86 combined (Water Board rates). Small houses pay by the meter. Buildings of four or more units can choose a flat charge per apartment instead. The water and sewer bill page works through a sample bill line by line and shows how the rate has climbed since 2002.

Is there lead between the main and your tap?

DEP counts about 121,100 service lines that are lead or galvanized pipe needing replacement, and another 118,000 whose material it does not know (DEP replacement plan). The property owner is responsible for the whole line. Lead lines were legal in the city until 1961, so older small buildings are the ones to check. Read lead service lines for ownership, the map and the letter-only free replacement program, then the free lead test kit for how to order a kit and take the samples.

Does your building store water on the roof?

DOHMH explains that in buildings over six floors, pumps lift water into rooftop tanks. Owners must have each tank inspected and sampled for bacteria every year and file the result by January 15 (DOHMH tank reporting). Roof water tanks covers the rules, the posted notice and how to look up your own building’s results.

What is actually in NYC tap water?

In 2025, 91.3% of the supply came from the Catskill and Delaware systems and 8.7% from Croton. Average hardness was about 2 grains per gallon, which DEP classes as soft (2025 water quality report). Tap water quality explains what that means for filters, softeners and testing at your own sink.

Where water turns into a plumbing problem

Some water questions are really pipe questions. Sewage coming up a basement drain is covered on sewer backups, and a winter freeze on frozen pipes. Who pays for a leak inside the walls is sorted building by building on who fixes what.

How this plate was drawn

This hub sums up the five water pages and draws on the Water Board rate schedule, DEP’s lead and water quality reports and DOHMH’s tank rules, all checked on 11 Nov 2026. Rates change every July 1. Borough counts of lead lines are not published, so none appear here.

Sources

  1. NYC Water Board — Rates & Regulations · FY2027 water, sewer and combined rate · checked 11 Nov 2026
  2. DEP — citywide lead line plan, 2025 · service line inventory and the 1961 date · checked 11 Nov 2026
  3. NYC DOHMH — Drinking Water Tank Inspection Reporting · yearly inspection and January 15 filing · checked 11 Nov 2026
  4. NYC DEP — 2025 Drinking Water Supply and Quality Report · source split and hardness · checked 11 Nov 2026