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

History
In 1842 the Croton River, a tributary of the Hudson River, was impounded by the Old Croton Dam to create Croton Lake. This was New York City's first source of water beyond its city limits. Its waters traveled by aqueduct to the Croton Distributing Reservoir in midtown Manhattan.

Construction on a New Croton Dam began in 1892. In 1900, the workers (primarily Italian immigrants, Irish immigrants and African-Americans) constructing the dam went on strike to protest unfair wages. The New York State National Guard was called in to protect replacement workers and violence ensued.

In 1906, the New Croton Dam was completed, expanding the existing impoundment into the New Croton Reservoir, then the largest in the Croton Watershed, and thus one of the largest in the New York City water supply system to that point. It has a 57 square mile (148 km2) drainage basin, is approximately 9 mi long, and can hold 19 e9USgal of water at full capacity.

Its waters flow into the New Croton Aqueduct, then into the Jerome Park Reservoir in the Bronx. Water from the Jerome Park Reservoir is normally distributed to parts of Manhattan, the Bronx, and western Queens.