Kirk Lake (New York) facts for kids
Kirk Lake is a special lake located in Mahopac, a small community in Putnam County, New York. It's known as a "controlled lake" because its water levels are managed by people. This lake is very important because it helps supply drinking water to New York City.
Kirk Lake sits just west of the much larger Lake Mahopac. It is one of three controlled lakes that are part of the New York City water supply system in the Croton River watershed.
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What is a Controlled Lake?
A controlled lake is a body of water where the amount of water flowing in and out is managed by humans, usually with a dam. This helps make sure there's enough water for drinking, especially for big cities like New York City. It also helps prevent floods.
Where Does Kirk Lake's Water Go?
The water flowing out of Kirk Lake forms the very beginning of the Muscoot River. A river that starts this way is called a "headwater." The Muscoot River is a smaller river that eventually flows into the Croton River.
About half a mile south of the dam at Kirk Lake, a small amount of water from Lake Mahopac joins the flow. This combined water then travels into Westchester County and empties into the Amawalk Reservoir. Reservoirs are like big storage tanks for water.
History of Kirk Lake's Dam
Kirk Lake used to be much smaller than it is today. To make it bigger and hold more water, a dam was built there in 1871. This dam was made even larger in 1881. It became a big structure, about 220 feet wide and 28 feet tall. This made the lake much larger than it was naturally.
The dam itself is made of stone and earth. The top of the dam is about 592 feet above sea level. It is about 61 feet wide at the top and stands 28 feet above the Muscoot River below.
How Much Water Does Kirk Lake Hold?
Kirk Lake can hold a lot of water! Its maximum capacity is about 1,822 acre-feet of water. An acre-foot is the amount of water needed to cover one acre of land with water one foot deep. This is equal to about 600 million US gallons of water.
The lake is owned by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. This department is in charge of making sure New York City has clean drinking water.
The area that drains into Kirk Lake, called its "drainage area," is about 2.95 square miles. The dam's spillway and overflow pipe can release up to 440 cubic feet of water per second.
Normally, Kirk Lake is about 0.8 miles long and covers an area of 124 acres. When it's at its fullest, it can cover up to 220 acres. Its normal capacity is about 920 acre-feet, which is about 300 million US gallons of water.
