The Croton Watershed

General Info

Click on the map to see a larger high-resolution PDF version.

While most of the Croton Watershed lies outside of Dutchess County in Putnam and Westchester Counties, and western Connecticut, the northernmost part of the watershed is located in the Dutchess County towns of East Fishkill, Beekman, and Pawling. The Croton River Watershed is also part of the municipal drinking water system (East of Hudson Watersheds) that provides drinking water for New York City.

The NYC Watershed

Map of the New York City Water Supply East of Hudson Watersheds from the NYC DEP. Click on the map to see a larger version of the map.

The New York City Croton Watershed Supply System includes twelve major reservoirs and four controlled lakes that supply drinking water via aqueduct to New York City. The Croton River begins where the east and west branches of the Croton River meet downstream from the Croton Falls Reservoir. Excess water leaves the spillway at the New Croton Dam, and the Croton River empties into the Hudson River at Croton-on-Hudson, NY.

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Important Water Bodies

The Great Swamp and its 63,000-acre watershed stretches twenty miles through the towns of Southeast and Patterson (in Putnam County), and Pawling and Dover (in Dutchess County). The Great Swamp spans two watersheds, dividing in Pawling into a north and south flow. The southern section flows into the East Branch Croton River, to the East Branch Reservoir of New York City's Croton Reservoir System, making the Great Swamp the important headwaters of New York City's drinking water supply. Other important water bodies in the Croton Watershed include Black Pond and Dutchess Lake.

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MS4 Regulations

Because parts of their towns lie within the East of Hudson Croton watershed, for which a total maximum daily load (TMDL) for pollutant loading has been developed, the Towns of Pawling, Beekman, and East Fishkill and Village of Pawling are referred to as “additionally designated MS4s” and have to comply with more stringent MS4 (municipal separate storm sewer systems) requirements. As a result, the towns agree to develop, implement, and enforce stormwater management plans to reduce the discharge of pollutants to the maximum extent practicable and must address six minimum measures that are required in their storm water program, including public education and outreach, and public participation in Storm Water Impacts; illicit discharge detection and elimination; construction and post-construction site storm water runoff control and management; and pollution prevention/good housekeeping for municipal operations.

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Important Biodiversity

According to the Nature Conservancy, the Great Swamp (partly a constituent of the Croton Watershed) is extremely rich in biodiversity and “harbors at least 20 species of mammals, 36 species of amphibians and reptiles, 64 species of butterflies, and 58 species of dragonflies and damselflies. A recent inventory identified 180 species of birds using the Great Swamp as a migratory flyway and 100 species nesting in the wetland and adjacent upland areas.”

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Public Access Sites

Public Access Sites to Water Resources in Dutchess County

Double click on the map to zoom in, or click on an icon to get more information about a public access site!

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Public access sites in nearby watersheds

Indicates a public access point to the Hudson River or a Hudson Direct drainage stream	Indicates a public access site on the Casperkill
Indicates a public access site on the Fall Kill	Indicates a public access site on the Fishkill Creek
Indicates a public access site on the Ten Mile River or a tributary to the Ten Mile River	Indicates a public access site on the Wappinger or a tributary to the Wappinger
Indicates a public access site for the Roeliff Jansen Kill

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Links to Resources/Active Organizations

Croton Water Clean Water Coalition, Inc. (CWCWC)

The Croton Watershed Clean Water Coalition strives to protect and improve the waters of New York City’s Croton Watershed, a critical component of the water supply for over half of New York State.
Visit: www.newyorkwater.org

Friends of the Croton Watershed

The Friends of the Croton Watershed is an organization devoted to improving the watershed through environmentally sound alternatives to filtration.
Visit: www.townlink.com/community_web/yorktown/watershed/

Friends of the Great Swamp

Friends of Great Swamp (FrOGS) works to protect the Great Swamp, which is one of the is one of the largest freshwater wetlands in New York State., and lies in eastern Putnam and Dutchess Counties.
Visit: http://frogs-ny.org/

The Nature Conservancy, Great Swamp Program

The Nature Conservancy's Eastern New York Chapter started its Great Swamp Program in 1996 to engage residents and local leaders in the protection of the native plants and animals in the Great Swamp watershed, while preserving the economic vitality of the local communities within it.
Visit: http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/newyork/preserves/art13513.html

New York City Croton Water Supply System

The Croton Water Supply System is the oldest of New York City’s three systems (Croton, Catskill and Delaware) that provide drinking water to New York City and upstate communities. Although it was once the only reservoir system supplying water from outside the City, the Croton System is now the smallest of the three systems.
Visit: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/dep_projects/croton_wide.shtml

Trout Unlimited, Croton Chapter

This site is devoted to the conservation of North America's trout and salmon fisheries and includes a Fly Fisherman's Guide to Fly Fishing the Croton Watershed.
Visit: http://crotonwatershedtu.org/TU/

Westchester County, Croton Watershed Planning

The Croton Watershed municipalities are working together to restore, enhance and improve water quality throughout the watershed, and have adopted a Croton Watershed Management Plan.
Visit: http://www.westchestergov.com/PLANNING/watershed/default.htm

Dutchesswatersheds.org does not endorse any of the above organizations, or the information provided on their websites.

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