Last month we toured the reservoirs of the Croton water system that serves New York City. Its the oldest and smallest part of the system and serves as sort of a holding tank for the water that flows from the other two reservoir systems, the Catskill and the Delaware. This month we're heading across the Hudson to take a look at the Catskill system. The Catskill water system was completed in 1915. It's main reservoir, the Ashokan, was created by damming the Esoupus River near Olive, New York. Now, you might say to yourself, "wait a minute, the Ashokan Reservoir is on the West side of the Hudson and the Croton is on the East. How are the two connected?" That's a good question. The two are connected by a series of aqueducts and water tunnels. This month we're going to trace their path.
This month's ride starts at the traffic circle at the western end of the Bear Mountain Bridge. The easiest way to get there from the City is to cross the George Washington Bridge (upper deck) and get on the Palisades Interstate Parkway. Follow the PIP and signs to the Bear Mountain Bridge to its end. You'll be at the circle that is made up of the intersection of US202, US6 and US9W. The route starts by following 9W north for just a short way. The first part of the route doesn't have much to do with following the NYC water supply, but I had to find some interesting way of getting up to the point where the water tunnel crossed to the west side of the Hudson River. The first road if interest is Old Mine Road. This road runs from US9W west to NY 293. It crosses through the area that the US Military Academy uses as training grounds. Because of this there are times during the year that the road is closed. You wouldn't want to ride into the path of a tank or something, would you?. If the road is closed, just head back to 9W and continue north to Cornwall. Speaking of closed roads, when I worked out the route, I wanted to go across Old Mine Road, up NY 293 to NY 218, the Storm King Highway. The Storm King Highway is a wonderful road that is cut into the edge of the rocks along the Hudson River. It runs from the back side of West Point north to Cornwall on Hudson. The only problem is that every few years there some sort of land slide or other problem that closes the road. It happens so often that there's a gate across the road just after the entrance to West Point. When I came up to it this time, it was closed, so the route gets back on to 9W to go up to Cornwall. When you take this ride, look for the 'NY 218 Closed' or 'NY 218 Open' signs. If the sign says the road is open follow the Storm King Highway along through Cornwall and pick the route up as it moves through there.
Once you get through Cornwall, then the real purpose of the ride begins. At about mile 18.5 just as you've crossed under the New York Throughway and turned right on Riley Road you'll notice what looks sort of like an abandoned railroad grade, with no track. All that you see is a grass covered berm with a flat top. What you've just seen is the aqueduct that carries water from the Ashokan to the Croton Reservoir. This is the first place that you can get a good look at it. As it heads toward the Hudson it drops deep underground and can't be seen from the surface. If you look carefully you'll see little white signs proclaiming 'No Trespassing' and 'Property of NYC Water Authority.' Those signs will confirm that what you are seeing is the structure that brings water to your tap.
You'll lose sight of the aqueduct again on NY 208 just south of the intersection of NY 44/55. If you look carefully you can see the pumping station that is used to help the water along when the water levels are low. Normally the system does most of its work by gravity. From here the aqueduct dives under the Shawangunk Mountains. You can't, so the route heads up and over near the Mohonk Mountain House. Near mile 58 about half way up the ridge on your left you can see the aqueduct again. We'll follow it to the Ashokan Reservoir.
After the route turns onto NY 28A, look for the park area and fountain at the base of the dam. In the Summer the fountain is a great place to sit around and cool off. Pull into the parking area and take some time to walk around. After that the route heads up onto the dam and across the reservoir. You'll be amazed at its size. The route ends at the intersection of the Reservoir Road and NY 28. But there are lots of other places to go now that you are up there. You could turn right on NY 28 and then left on 28A to circle the Ashokan. You could go right on NY 28 and follow the signs to Woodstock. If you're interested in getting home in a hurry, you could even turn right on NY 28 and follow it to the NY Throughway south, but that isn't any fun.
To see more information about the New York City Water System, you can surf over to the NYC DEP web page.