New Croton Reservoir

The New Croton Reservoir is a reservoir in Westchester County, New York, part of the New York City water supply system lying approximately 22 miles (35 km) north of New York City. It is the collecting point for water from all reservoirs in the Croton Watershed.^[2]

New Croton Reservoir
New Croton Reservoir
Location	Westchester County, New York
Coordinates	41°13′58.65″N 73°50′23.27″W
Type	reservoir
Primary inflows	Croton River
Primary outflows	Croton River
Catchment area	57 sq mi (150 km2)
Basin countries	United States
Max. length	9 mi (14 km)
Surface area	2,160 acres (870 ha)[1]
Water volume	19×10^9 US gal (72,000,000 m3)
Surface elevation	59 m (194 ft)[1]

History

In 1842 the Croton River, a tributary of the Hudson River, was impounded by the Old Croton Dam to create Croton Lake.^{[citation needed]} This was New York City's first source of water beyond its city limits. Its waters traveled by aqueduct to the Croton Distributing Reservoir in midtown Manhattan.

Construction on a New Croton Dam began in 1892. In 1900, the workers (primarily Italian immigrants, Irish immigrants and African-Americans) constructing the dam went on strike to protest unfair wages. The New York State National Guard was called in to protect replacement workers and violence ensued.^[3]

In 1906, the New Croton Dam was completed, expanding the existing impoundment into the New Croton Reservoir, then the largest in the Croton Watershed, and thus one of the largest in the New York City water supply system to that point. It has a 57 square mile (148 km²) drainage basin,^[4] is approximately 9 miles (14 km) long, and can hold 19 billion US gallons (72,000,000 m³) of water at full capacity.

Its waters flow into the New Croton Aqueduct, then into the Jerome Park Reservoir in the Bronx. Water from the Jerome Park Reservoir is normally distributed to parts of Manhattan, the Bronx, and western Queens.^[5]

Gallery

Panoramic view of New Croton Reservoir and New Croton Dam

• 
  Perspective of the reservoir
• 
  Water treatment at the reservoir
• 
  Plaque at the New Croton Aqueduct
• 
  Gate House Bridge - one of several bridges transversing the reservoir

See also

• Old Croton Aqueduct
• New Croton Aqueduct
• List of reservoirs and dams in New York
• New York City water supply system

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: New Croton Reservoir
2. "New Croton Reservoir". dec.ny.gov. NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
3. "The New Croton Reservoir – Public Water". Retrieved 2022-06-04.
4. Staff (September 24, 1904). "Completing the Great Masonry Dam of, the New Croton Reservoir". Scientific American. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
5. Staff. "Croton Water Supply System". ascemetsection.org. American Society of Civil Engineers. Retrieved 13 November 2016.