Kensico Reservoir

Kensico Reservoir
Kensico Reservoir
Location	Valhalla, Harrison, North Castle, New York, United States
Coordinates	41°5′10″N 73°45′50″W / 41.08611°N 73.76389°W / 41.08611; -73.76389 Kensico Dam41°04′25″N 73°45′59″W / 41.07361°N 73.76639°W / 41.07361; -73.76639
Type	reservoir
Primary inflows	Bronx River
Primary outflows	Bronx River
Basin countries	United States
Surface area	2,140 acres (8.7 km2)
Average depth	43.6 feet (13.3 m)
Max. depth	120 feet (37 m)
Water volume	30,000,000,000 US gallons (110,000,000 m3)

The Kensico Reservoir is a reservoir located in the towns of Armonk (North Castle), Harrison and Valhalla (Mount Pleasant), New York. It was formed by the old earth and gravel dam, built in 1885, which impounded waters from the Bronx and Byram rivers, and supplied about 18 million gallons daily. The construction of a new masonry dam in 1915, replaced the old dam, and expanded the water supply by bringing water from the Catskill Mountains over a distance of more than 100 miles. It is about 3 miles (5 km) north of downtown White Plains, New York, and about 15 miles (24 km) north of New York City. The reservoir serves mainly to store the waters received from the Catskill Mountains west of the Hudson River. Along with the West Branch Reservoir and Boyds Corner Reservoir, it is one of only three reservoirs within the Catskill/Delaware system outside the Catskill Mountains region.

The Kensico Reservoir also provides for fishing and boating recreation. Every year, the reservoir is stocked with over 2,000 brown trout. According to the Department of Environmental Conservation, the Kensico Reservoir was stocked in April 2016 with 8620 brown Trout 8.5 to 9.5 inches (22 to 24 cm) long.

As the population of New York City grew in the 19th century, so did the need for water. The first use of water from Westchester County came from the old Croton Dam (forming what was called Croton Lake), which was completed in 1842. In the 1880s, the City faced increasing demands for water and therefore needed to enlarge the Croton Reservoir to meet that need. The enlargement of the Croton Reservoir (with the construction of the New Croton Dam and the forming of the New Croton Reservoir) was completed in 1906 as a part of a system of reservoirs designed to bring water from Putnam and Westchester Counties (the Croton Watershed) to New York City.