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 control ...

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 the ...

. 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 f ...

, 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 Aqueduct (water supply), aqueducts, reservoirs, and Tunnel, tunnels supplies fresh water to New York City. With three major water systems (New Croton Aqueduct, Croton, Catskill Aqueduct, Catskill, and Delaware Aqueduct , Delaw ...

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 R ...

, 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 (753–5 ...

. 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 in

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 orga ...

. 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 Rondout Reservoir is part of New York City's water supply network. It is located 75 miles (120 km) northwest of the city in the Catskill Mountains, near the southern end of Catskill Park, split between the towns of Wawarsing in Ulster County ...

west 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 New ...

by 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 ...

. Water from the West Branch Reservoir then continues via the aqueduct on 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 188 ...

, which also receives a supply from the Catskill system through 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 in ...

. After settling at Kensico, the water flows through two aqueducts to the Hillview Reservoir in

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, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as enum ...

, 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 A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure th ...

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 of the Croton River at 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 ...

. 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 The New Croton Dam (also known as Cornell Dam) is a dam forming the New Croton Reservoir, both parts of the New York City water supply system. It stretches across the Croton River near Croton-on-Hudson, New York, about north of New York City. ...

back into the Croton River, where it carried until discharging into the

Croton-on-Hudson, New York Croton-on-Hudson is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 8,327 at the 2020 United States census over 8,070 at the 2010 census. It is located in the town of Cortlandt as part of New York City's northern subur ...

. After the Teton Dam failure on the

Snake River The Snake River is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest region in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, in turn, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Snake ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

, all dams in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

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)