J. Waldo Smith, Chief Engineer


In 1905 Mayor George McLellan's bill, which allowed the city to develop the Catskill system, passed in the Legislature. J. Waldo Smith was appointed chief engineer with an annual salary of $15,000. A graduate of MIT, he worked for 17 years on the expansion of the supply. In 1907 the contract was signed and for the next 10 years work began on the reservoir, completely changing the face of the "gateway to the Catskills."

NYC Watershed Retrospective