NEW YORK—Most people just turn on the faucet without thinking about where the water comes from—or where it is going. Not Matt Malina. He has made it his mission to break down New York City’s world-class water system and help educate others about it.
Who else would know that stores in California and Florida try to mimic the mineral content of New York City water to make bagels as good as New York’s? Malina does, and he loves educating people about it.
“Upstate in the Catskills, where our water comes from, there is a lot of bluestone,” he said. “And it’s believed that because the water passes over a lot of that bluestone, it picks up those minerals and that adds to the flavor of our water.”
Malina, who runs his own private tutoring business, has also taken his love of water and put energy into NYC H2O, a non-profit organization that offers educational programs about New York City’s water and ecology. “None of the stuff I do is rocket science,” said Malina, whose favorite mathematician is Archimedes.
No Tour, No Problem
Today, Malina can spout off many facts about the city’s water system, much of which comes from seeing it in action. But had it not been for meeting several key people, he might just be another curious citizen with unanswered questions.
In 2008, the New York native became interested in the city’s water system after reading about a new water tunnel being installed 600 feet below the bedrock.
