The West Branch Reservoir is a

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 contr ...

in 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 ...

. Formed by impounding the upper reaches of the West Branch of the Croton River, it is located in the

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 ...

, towns of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, and Carmel, about north of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

.West Branch reservoir, New York City Department of Environmental Protection
/ref> Put into service in 1895, West Branch is one of 12 reservoirs in the system's

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 ...

,NYC DEP, Reservoirs, Croton Watershed
/ref> and second northernmost. It receives the flow of the upstream Boyds Corner impoundment, and, when needed, of

Lake Gleneida Lake Gleneida is a controlled lake in the hamlet of Carmel within the Town of Carmel in central Putnam County, New York. Originally a smaller natural water body, Shaw's Pond, it was dammed by New York City in 1870 and enlarged to for inclusion ...

, a

controlled lake A controlled lake is both a general and specific term to describe a body of water. In its general sense it describes a lake or reservoir which has its water level controlled by some form of dam. In the specific, it refers to three small lakes wit ...

in the City supply system. Primarily, however, it receives water from the much larger Rondout Reservoir in the

Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas cl ...

on the west bank of the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between Ne ...

via the

Delaware Aqueduct The Delaware Aqueduct is an aqueduct in the New York City water supply system. It takes water from the Rondout, Cannonsville, Neversink, and Pepacton reservoirs on the west bank of the Hudson River through the Chelsea Pump Station, then into ...

. It serves as a supplementary settling basin for these waters before releasing its flow back into the aqueduct to be carried to the

Kensico Reservoir The Kensico Reservoir is a reservoir spanning the towns of Armonk (North Castle) and Valhalla ( Mount Pleasant), New York, located 3 miles (5 km) north of White Plains. It was formed by the original earth and gravel Kensico Dam constructed in 18 ...

in southern

Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...

. West Branch Reservoir has a 20 square mile (32 km²) drainage basin, and can hold up to of water at full capacity. It consists of two basins, separated by State Route 301. During drought periods the West Branch also receives water pumped in from the Hudson River by the City's Chelsea Pumping Station near

Beacon A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into port. More mode ...

Dutchess County Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later or ...

, some from New York City. It was used for this purpose during the 1965–66 and 1985 droughts, as well as during May 1989. Water withdrawn from the West Branch ordinarily flows via the Delaware Aqueduct to the Kensico Reservoir in

for further settling. There it mixes with additional Catskill system water carried by the

Catskill Aqueduct The Catskill Aqueduct, part of the New York City water supply system, brings water from the Catskill Mountains to Yonkers where it connects to other parts of the system. History Construction commenced in 1907. The aqueduct proper was completed ...

before entering tunnels that carry it to the

Hillview Reservoir The Hillview Reservoir is a storage reservoir in southeastern Yonkers, New York. It was built within a six-year period from 1909–1915 by the New York City Board of Water Supply to receive water from the newly constructed Catskill Aqueduct, w ...

Yonkers Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York (state), New York, after New York City and Buffalo, New York, Buffalo. The popul ...

, at the City's northern boundary. There it enters the city's direct water supply distribution system, flowing via tunnels through the boroughs of

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, and

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. The water finally stops at

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey b ...

. Water in excess of New York City's needs at the West Branch Reservoir goes over its spillway and into the West Branch Croton River, which is captured downstream by the

Croton Falls Reservoir The Croton Falls Reservoir is a reservoir in the New York City water supply system in the Putnam County, New York townships of Carmel, and Southeast, roughly north of New York City. Part of the system's Croton Watershed, it was formed by impou ...

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

See also

References

External links