The New York City water-supply system is one of the largest surface-storage and supply complexes in the world, consisting of over 1,900 square miles, or 1,216,000 acres, covering parts of eight counties north and northwest of the City. Portions of the watershed are located as far as 125 miles from New York City. On average, 1.34 billion gallons of water are conveyed to the City each day. In addition to its 8 million residents, the City supplies high quality drinking water to one million residents in upstate counties, as well as millions of daily commuters, tourists and visitors to the City. Agriculture is one of the major land uses in New York City's upstate watershed. Dairy and livestock farming in particular present one of the greatest challenges to the City's comprehensive watershed management program. Agriculture is potentially a significant source of pathogens, nutrients and other forms of pollution to surface waters. There are approximately 400 dairy and livestock farms in the City's watershed.
