Cooper Hewitt says...
Initially founded as the New York Board of Water Supply in 1905, the New York City Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity was the predecessor of the present-day Department of Environmental Protection. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the DWSGE employed numerous Works Projects Administration workers; one of its chief accomplishments of the period was the assembly of a water waste force to study and propose solutions for water use and waste in the city. In the year surrounding World War II, the Department also launched a WPA poster campaign to discourage residents from wasting water, as well as bolstering the already-established Water Waste Force assembled in 1934 [1].
In 1958, the DWSGE commissioned industrial designer Donald Deskey to work with its own Chief Engineer, Alexander Lurkis, to redesign the NYC street light post to accommodate new mercury bulbs and replace the city’s incandescent street lights.
In 1983 the Bureau of Water Supply and DWSGE became the N.Y.C. Department of Environmental Protection. Today, the NYC Department of Environmental Protection is a Mayoral agency and overseen by a Commissioner appointed by the Mayor; it also regulates hazardous waste, air quality, and general quality of life issues including noise and sound pollution.
[1] Emily Lloyd and Angela Licata, “One New York City: One Water: Sustainable Water Management for New York City’s People and Environment,” NYC.gov, http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/pdf/climate/one-nyc-one-water.pdf: 5; “An Enduring Legacy: The New Deal’s ‘Water Waste Force,” Weekly Pipeline 2, no. 99 (November 22, 2011): 1-2, http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/pdf/pipeline/0299_pipeline.pdf.
