Blue Lake, also called Sterling Forest Lake, is a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

located in

Sterling Forest State Park Sterling Forest State Park is a state park located in the Ramapo Mountains in Orange County, New York. Established in 1998, it is among the larger additions to the New York state park system in the last 50 years. History Sterling Forest was ...

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. As of 2018, the Blue Lake Reservoir System, operated by SUEZ North America (formerly United Water), supplies drinking water from Blue Lake to about 1,200 people.

Overview

The lake is the largest of many smaller lakes in the state park. The lake contains a number of fish species including Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Largemouth Bass, Chain Pickerel and Panfish. Fishing is permitted and the lake has the only boat launch within the state park, but no gas motors are allowed.

History

Blue Lake was created in 1956 when the stream originating at Little Cedar Pond to the northwest was dammed, inundating the area. In 1960, the International Nickel Company (INCO) purchased property overlooking the lake where they built a facility. That facility, which ceased operation in the late 1980s, included a headquarters office and a research center called the Paul D. Merica Laboratory. After remaining vacant for decades, the old INCO facility was replaced in 2016 by the newly constructed world headquarters of

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

. The only other facility adjacent to Blue Lake is owned by IBM. Originally built in the early 1970s, it now hosts a business continuity and recovery center.

References

{{authority control Lakes of New York (state) Ramapos Warwick, New York Fishing communities in the United States Reservoirs in New York (state)