Unlike New York City, which declared a drought warning on Monday, Nov. 18 – the last step before a drought emergency where restrictions are put in place – Peekskill’s water supply at the Wiccopee Reservoir in Putnam Valley is in good shape, according to
Water Superintendent David Rambo. “We’re at 65 percent capacity,” said Rambo.
Because of the work going on at the Hollowbrook Dam in Cortlandt, we’ve been very conservative in our flows, he added. In October when the dry weather started, the values were opened up because the other tributaries were drying up.
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Image from the Wiccopee Dam on Sunday, Nov. 17.
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Wiccopee Dam during the drought of 2022.
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“We have plenty of water.” The Upper Wiccopee Dam is down about 9 feet. That’s lower than it was two years ago when it was down 16 feet. In the upper and lower Wiccopee reservoirs there are 35 feet of water, explained Rambo. At this time of year, the upper feeds the lower. And the lower reservoir is discharging into the streams.
Peekskill is in a partnership with Northern Westchester Joint Water Works that includes Cortlandt, Yorktown, Somers, Buchanan and Montrose. Last week Buchanan asked if they could increase their draw from us and they did for two feeds, said Rambo.
