By Gus Saltonstall
After a four-year hiatus, the waterfall in Morningside Park was restarted on Friday.
The waterfall and the pond beneath it are located in the park near the entrance at West 113th Street and Manhattan Avenue. Despite restoration work done in 2017 to counteract harmful algae in the pond, the waterfall broke down in 2018 after the water pumps deployed to create the waterfall burned out and stopped working.
The lack of running water provided by the waterfall quickly led to the pond becoming more susceptible to algae blooming in the water, and subsequent murkiness.
The Morningside Park waterfall has a meaningful history: it is located on the site where Columbia University had planned to build a controversial gymnasium in the 1960s, but the plans were halted after protests from students and the community.
A crater was left in the park from the construction, which remained as such until the 1980s, when Columbia and the New York City Parks Department built the pond and waterfall.
Following the breakdown of the waterfall in 2018, and a delay in seeking solutions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, locals led a new push to restore the out-of-order waterfall in the summer of 2023. The renewed effort inspired an investigation by the Parks Department and Columbia’s School of Engineering and Applied Science to repair the failure of the two water pumps and fix the waterfall.
In January of 2024, engineers from Columbia discovered the pumps for the waterfall had burned out, which can happen for multiple reasons, including the water level running too low, some sort of clog, or frequent on-and-off cycles.
With the specific issue now identified, a group of students and faculty at Columbia’s Civil Engineering and Mechanics Department were able to retrofit the existing pumps of the waterfall with a new control system, allowing the waterfall to run again, without an expensive replacement cost.
A $25,000 investment also allowed NYC Parks to move the electrical cabinet powering the waterfall pumps above ground to protect it from flooding.
“Morningside Park’s waterfall and pond are beloved by the community members who enjoy them every day,” said Brad Taylor, president of Friends of Morningside Park, a group that has overseen the park since 1981, in a news release. “We’re thrilled that the waterfall has been lovingly and expertly restored, and we look forward to a continued partnership with Columbia and NYC Parks to ensure that our park stays healthy and green for years to come.”
Along with the restored waterfall, a team at the Columbia Climate School is developing a nontoxic mineral blend that can protect against algae outbreaks in the pond, and, also, self-driving boats that can identify harmful blooms and eradicate them.
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Thank you, Columbia University, for this beautiful waterfall and pond.
Noticed the waterfall was working again yesterday and was thrilled! Thank you Columbia students and faculty for the collaboration. Looking forward to seeing the pond cleaned up too and its natural habitat protected. Wonderful to see this potentially lovely area transformed. To all involved with this park’s beautification, it is very much noticed and appreciated by the community.
Please add more lights, cameras, and police surveillance in this beautiful park.
So happy to hear the waterfall is back! This was a beautiful spot. Thanks to everyone who made this happen!
It’s a blessing to have it restored. Hopefully the water quality will improve for the benefit of all the wildlife there.
If only people wouldn’t be so inconsiderate with their garbage they leave behind, including used syringes. Having some rangers or police patrolling would be most welcome.