Neversink Reservoir
| Neversink Reservoir | |
|---|---|
South end, from the dam
|
|
| Location | Sullivan County, New York |
| Coordinates | 41°49′33″N 074°38′20″W / 41.82583°N 74.63889°WCoordinates: 41°49′33″N 074°38′20″W / 41.82583°N 74.63889°W |
| Type | reservoir |
| Primary inflows | Neversink River |
| Primary outflows | Neversink Tunnel |
| Catchment area | 92 sq mi (240 km2) |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Max. length | 5 mi (8.0 km) |
| Max. depth | 175 ft (53 m) |
| Water volume | 34.9 billion US gallons (132,000,000 m3) |
Neversink Reservoir is one of several in the Catskill Mountains that supply water to New York City and other communities along its water supply network. It is located in Sullivan County's Town of Neversink, 75 miles (120.6 km) northwest of the city.
It is fed by the Neversink River, the longest tributary of the Delaware River. Water collected in the reservoir in turn goes through the Neversink Tunnel a short distance east to Rondout Reservoir to be pooled with that from Pepacton and Cannonsville as well, providing nearly half of the city's daily consumption.
Construction began in 1941, as the city realized that after World War II, it would need to increase its supply aggressively to meet explosive growth. Neversink was ultimately chosen after opposition from the region's trout fishermen and the geologic unfeasibility of the site scotched plans for smaller reservoirs along Willowemoc Creek.
Two local hamlets with long histories, Neversink and Bittersweet, were condemned and flooded to make the reservoir a reality (the former was relocated a little over a mile away and still exists today; the latter is gone completely). The reservoir was finished in 1953 and began sending water the following year, although only in 1955 did it reach its planned capacity.
In 2006, after residents raised concerns regarding the soundness of both Merriman and Neversink dams, a local newspaper obtained copies of inspection reports for both and found that the handwriting and information relating to the structural soundness of the dams on many of them over a three-year period was virtually identical, suggesting they had been routinely . Only variable information, such as weather and water elevation, changed in each report.
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