Great Flats Aquifer

The Schenectady Aquifer (a.k.a. the Great Flats Aquifer) is one of the most productive aquifers in New York State. It is also the most heavily pumped aquifer in upstate New York.

Schenectady first tapped the aquifer as a water source in 1897. Today Scotia, Glenville, Rotterdam and Niskayuna also draw their main water supplies from the aquifer, a total of 24 million gallons per day. The Department of Health estimates as much as 65 million gallons could be safely withdrawn.

The Great Flats Aquifer is a large deposit of water-saturated sand and gravel that was deposited as glaciers receded around 10,000 years ago. A large lake some researchers have compared to Lake Ontario once drained into those sands.

  New Your State Aquifiers

Further Info

• Great Flats Aquifer
• Geohydrology of the Schenectady Aquifer, Schenectady County, New York
• The Iromohawk River  
• New York State Primary Aquifers
• Great Flats Nature Trail

The Iromohawk River - Maps Tell a Story

So much ancient history can be learned just from the soil and rocks all around you…

I think this is a fascinating story. It was sourced from a geologist’s book written back in 1917 and presented in this "map abundant" truncated online version.

The Iromohawk River

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