Sold Out
Midnight Leak Detection
NYC Department of Environmental Protection
Civic Center, Manhattan
Fri, October 17th, 2025
12:01am — 1:15am
12:30am — 1:45am
Join the NYC Department of Environmental Protection for an inside look at the operations of the Leak Detection team and learn how their work protects New Yorkers’ water supply.
Each day, a billion gallons of drinking water travel through 7,000 miles of underground pipes in the five boroughs to New Yorkers’ taps. New York City has one of the most reliable water delivery systems in the country, and NYC DEP is hard at work to keep it that way. The Leak Detection team proactively canvases to catch leaking water mains before they lead to major breaks, which can cause major disruptions to service.
Using stethoscope-like devices to listen to the streets, the Leak Detection Team pinpoints the location of leaks so repair teams can get to work. Working at night, when the city is comparatively quiet, the Leak Detection team can listen to 40,000 feet of water mains per shift.
On this midnight tour with Anastasios (Tasos) Georgelis, DEP Acting Chief Operating Officer, Beth DeFalco, DEP Deputy Commissioner for Public Affairs & Communications, and John Castiglione, DEP Field Operations Manhattan Borough Manager, participants will see the Leak Detection team in action and have the opportunity to listen to the water mains beneath our streets.
This program will take place entirely outdoors and participants will be standing throughout. Participants should dress for the weather.
Participants must be 18+.
Water Works: Discover how water shapes the city, from the system of pipes that delivers 1 billion gallons of clean water into (and out of) homes daily, to the working waterfront that drove the city's economy for centuries, to the challenges of adapting 520 miles of shoreline for a wetter future. Explore more.



