The New Croton Dam is a masonry gravity dam forming the New Croton Reservoir, which are parts of the New York City water supply system. It stretches across the Croton River.

Background

The original Croton Dam (Old Croton Dam) was designed by Alphonse Fteley (1837–1903) and built between 1837 and 1842 to improve New York City's water supply. The Old Croton Reservoir was able to supply about 90 million US gallons (340,000 m3) a day to the city via the Old Croton. This original dam was 266 feet (81 m) broad at its base,  and it was 50 feet (15 m) high.  At the time of its completion, it was the tallest dam in the world. It impounds up to 19 billion US gallons (72,000,000 m3) of water, a small fraction of the New York City water system's total storage capacity of 580 billion US gallons (2.2×109 m3).[4]

To meet escalating water needs, the Aqueduct Commission of the City of New York ordered construction of a new Croton system .  Construction on the New Croton Dam, also known as Cornell Dam,  began in 1892 and was completed in 1906.Hydro engineer James B. Francis was brought in as a consultant for the construction.  This new and current dam and reservoir cover 20 square miles of land occupied by public and private buildings, six cemeteries, and more than 400 farms. The work force on the new dam included stonemasons and laborers who had worked on the original dam. 

=================================================================================================================================

Learn More:  Building the Dam and The Quarry:

James Coleman organized the Croton Quarry Company after he bought the Millstone Hill Quarry near Hunterbrook, which provided the dark gabbro stone for the inside portions of the walls and excavations. A railroad was built on leased land, 17 miles of track to Peekskill and Quarry Acres. All along the hills of the dam and on the site, a miniature railroad was constructed that carried on it open cars with materials removed from the banks or stone and brick for construction. Building the dam meant diverting the river from its normal path and pumping the riverbed dry. A silent film, The Croton Dam Strike, released in 1900, depicted labor–management problems related to the dam's construction.

The engineers' tablet mounted on the headhouse nearest the spillway lists the spillway length as 1,000 feet (300 m) and the total length of the dam and spillway combined as 2,188 feet (667 m).  Interestingly,  the original dam is submerged by the new reservoir. The New Croton Reservoir was eventually able to supply 200 to 300 million US gallons (760,000 to 1,140,000 m3) a day via a new aqueduct that carried water to Jerome Park Reservoir in the north Bronx, New York City.[10]

Repair

==================================================================================================================================

The bridge over the spillway was replaced in 1975 and again in 2005. Because of the September 11 attacks on New York City, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection permanently closed the road across the top of the dam. Pedestrians and emergency vehicles are allowed to use New Croton Dam Road, but all other traffic is still re-routed.

Video link: https://stream.mux.com/1edj8dBv1ZGJrE7XcVPSUcRLXsQOs7HPzuI2k2gadcg/high.mp4

Drone video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aJKHJWlVeg

Richard H. Becker, M.D.

Supervisor