The Boyds Corner Reservoir is a small

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

Putnam County, New York Putnam County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,668. The county seat is Carmel. Putnam County formed in 1812 from Dutchess County and is named for Israel Putnam, a hero in t ...

. It is in the town of

Kent, New York Kent is a town in Putnam County, New York, United States. The population was 12,900 at the 2020 census. The name is that of an early settler family. The town is in the north-central part of the Putnam County. Many of the lakes are reservoirs ...

, and is about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. It is the northernmost reservoir in the Croton River watershed, but is not part of the

New York City water supply system A combination of aqueducts, reservoirs, and tunnels supplies fresh water to New York City. With three major water systems ( Croton, Catskill, and Delaware) stretching up to away from the city, its water supply system is one of the most exte ...

Croton Watershed The Croton Watershed is the New York City water supply system's name for its southernmost watershed and its infrastructure,{{efn, Including dams, spillways, tunnels, pumps, and related mechanical components not part of a hydrological drainage bas ...

. and was formed by impounding the middle of the West Branch of the

Croton River The Croton River ( ) is a river in southern New York with three principal tributaries: the West Branch, Middle Branch, and East Branch. Their waters, all part of the New York City water supply system, join downstream from the Croton Falls Rese ...

, submerging the village of Boyds Corner.

History

Completed in 1872, the Boyds Corner Dam saw the use of concrete in dam construction for the first time since the

Ancient Romans In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 ...

. It was put into service in 1873, 78 feet high, making the Boyds Corner Reservoir the City's second oldest, after the

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 north of New York City. It is the collecting point for water from all reservoirs in the Croton Watershed. ...

. Originally constructed as part of the City's

system, Boyds Corner today serves mainly as part of the Catskill/Delaware water supply system. The Boyds Corner watershed drainage basin is long and a mere 1.5 miles (2.4 km) wide, and includes the headwaters of the West Branch of the Croton River. It spans portions of the Towns of Carmel and Putnam Valley in Putnam County, and

East Fishkill East Fishkill is a Town (New York), town on the southern border of Dutchess County, New York, Dutchess County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 29,707 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town was once the ...

in Dutchess County. The reservoir can hold . This makes it one of the smaller in New York City's water supply system. Water from Boyds Corner flows briefly into the West Branch of the Croton River, then continues southeast to enter the

West Branch Reservoir The West Branch Reservoir is a reservoir in the New York City water supply system. Formed by impounding the upper reaches of the West Branch of the Croton River, it is located in the Putnam County, New York, towns of Kent, and Carmel, about ...

, where it mixes with water carried from the Rondout Reservoir west of the Hudson River by the Delaware Aqueduct. Water from the West Branch Reservoir then continues via the aqueduct on to the Kensico Reservoir, which also receives a supply from the Catskill system through the Catskill Aqueduct. After settling at Kensico, the water flows through two aqueducts to the Hillview Reservoir in Yonkers, where it enters the City's distribution system. Any water in excess of New York City's needs at the West Branch Reservoir is diverted over a spillway back into the West Branch of the Croton River, whence it becomes part of the City's Croton Watershed. It is then mixed with water from the Middle Branch Croton River, Middle Branch of the Croton River at the Croton Falls Reservoir. Flow then briefly returns to the West Branch of the Croton River before reaching a confluence with the

proper. This continues southwest to the

. Any water in excess of the City's needs there then goes over the New Croton Dam back into the Croton River, where it carried until discharging into the Hudson River at Croton-on-Hudson, New York. After the Teton Dam, Teton Dam failure on the Snake River in Idaho, all dams in the United States were inspected for weaknesses and deterioration. In the 1980s it was discovered that the hundred-plus year-old Boyds Corner Dam needed to be replaced. In spite of opposition by those who believed the dam was in good condition, it was dismantled and the basin stood empty until the new dam was completed in 1990 and the reservoir refilled to capacity . The reconstruction included the addition of a new spillway with a 6.1m wide flip bucket in the central dam section and the use of post-tensioned anchors to increase dam stability.

Notes

References

External links

NYCDEP Water Supply Watersheds-Links to information on reservoirs by system

{{authority control Croton Watershed Reservoirs in New York (state) Protected areas of Putnam County, New York Reservoirs in Putnam County, New York 1872 establishments in New York (state)