Construction Begins On Central Park Project To Cut Harlem Flooding, Save Water

CENTRAL PARK, NY — Work has kicked off on a $35.7 million project to install a new water pump system inside the north end of Central Park, officials said Monday.

The new system is designed to reduce flooding in the 204 acres of Central Park that include the Harlem Meer, the Loch and the Pool, as well as its surrounding neighborhoods, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani said.

In addition to reducing flooding, the new pump system will save more than 175 million gallons of drinking water, officials said.

Here’s how it works: On dry days, the pumps will move water between the Harlem Meer, the Loch and the Pool, using gravity, so that the park doesn’t have to fill the historic pools with drinking water for the tranquil effect that Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux designed back in 1862.

But if a storm is expected, the pumps can lower the Meer’s water levels, leaving room for rainwater and lowering chances for flooding the city’s sewers by 90 percent, officials said.

"We are investing in infrastructure that protects New Yorkers during extreme weather while conserving the resources we all depend on," Mamdani said. "In Central Park, that means turning three beloved water bodies into part of a massive recirculation system that can conserve our drinking water on dry days and protect our neighborhoods from flooding when storms hit."

The pump installation is the latest investment in the northern end of the park.

In 2025, the Central Park Conservancy unveiled the new Davis Center, a new park building to replace the Lasker Center that includes a swimming pool that winters as an ice rink.

The pump installation is expected to be finished in fall 2028.

For questions, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.