The is a small reservoir in
Putnam County, New York . It is in the town of
Kent, New York , and is about 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of
New York City . It is the northernmost reservoir in the '''Croton Watershed''', and was formed by impounding the middle of the West Branch of the
Croton River , submerging the village of Boyds Corner.
Completed in 1872, the Boyds Corner dam saw the use of concrete in dam construction for the first time since the
Ancient Romans . It was put into service in
1873 , and is the City's second oldest reservoir (after the
Croton Reservoir ). Originally constructed as part of the City's Croton system, Boyds Corner today serves mainly as part of the Catskill/Delaware water supply system.
The reservoir can hold 1.7 billion
Gallon s (6.4 million m³). This makes it one of the smaller reservoirs in New York City's water supply system. The water that does not go to New York City flows out of the West Branch, and heads toward the end of the Croton River, passing through four more reservoirs along the way, and empties out into the
Hudson River .
Water from Boyds Corner flows briefly into the
Croton River and then continues southeast to enter the City's
West Branch Reservoir , where it mixes with water carried from the
Rondout Reservoir , west of the
Hudson River , through the
Delaware Aqueduct . From the West Branch, it ordinarily flows into the
Kensico Reservoir , which also receives water 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. This system delivers water throughout the city via a network of pipes and tunnels.
The Boyds Corner watershed drainage basin is 22 square miles and a mere 1.5 miles (2.4 km) in length. It includes portions of the Towns of
Carmel and
Putnam Valley in Putnam County, and
East Fishkill in
Dutchess County .
After the
Teton Dam Failure on the
Snake River in
Idaho , it was ordered that all dams in the
United States be inspected for weaknesses and deterioration. In the
1980s it was discovered that, as it was then over 100 years old, the Boyds Corner Dam was in such poor shape that it was beyond repair and needed to be dismantled and rebuilt. Even though there was opposition to this by those who believed the dam was in good condition, the dam was taken down, and what was once the reservoir stood as a giant mud flat until the new dam was completed in
1990 . 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. After reconstruction, the reservoir was refilled to capacity.
