Ashokan Bridge over Dividing Weir, Catskill Mts., N. Y.
The Kingston News Service published this postcard of the Ashokan Reservoir and the dividing weir that crosses over the middle of the reservoir, connecting the north and south sides. The postcard was never mailed.
The southern shore of this beautiful man-made lake is open to the public and offers some of the finest views in the Catskills. Monument Road, an approximately 2.7-mile one-way pedestrian (and closed-to-cars) road, is an amazing place to stroll, run, ride a bike, photograph, or look for bald eagles. With proper permits, the reservoir is also open to boating and fishing.
The Ashokan Reservoir has approximately 8,055 acres (13 square miles) of surface area and 40 miles of shoreline. It has an average depth of 47 feet, is over 110 feet at its deepest and holds up to 123 billion gallons of water. Today, 90% of New York City’s water comes from the Catskill Mountain reservoir system; the water is carried from the reservoir to New York City via the 92-mile Catskills Aqueduct. The system supplies over one billion gallons of water per day for nine million residents of the city and its surrounding communities. New York City’s water remains unfiltered, “one of only five large cities in the United States that is not required to filter its drinking water.”
