We recently received the following letter, concerning Sprain Lake in Yonkers. “I was just fishing in the Sprain Reservoir today and the water level was significantly lower then it was the last time I fished there which was about 8 weeks ago. (Yonkers City Councilman) Anthony Merante claimed back during the winter that the flood gates in the spillway had been repaired and that it would soon be filling up again but the opposite is happening the level is getting lower and vegetation and trees taller than me that appear to be Elm Trees are over six feet tall. I’d like to point out that these trees are where 8 to 12 feet of water should be 20 to 25 yards from where the old shore line used to be. The obvious question is if the gates have been repaired and closed why isnt the lake filling up again ?” wrote Nicholas F.
Nicholas is not alone in asking about Sprain Lake, which was drained for repairs to the dam controls two years ago. The empty lake also gets a lot of views from travelers along the Sprain Parkway southbound. We reached out to Councilman Merante, whose district also includes the lake.
Merante contacted Paul Summerfield, P.E. City of Yonkers Engineer, who responded, “The last gate valve is shipping this week. Will be here soon. Once it’s on site the contractor will start installing. I drove south on Sprain today and checked out the dam – I thought it looked great. Nice little island in the middle, you could see the old Grassy Sprain Rd and channel, vegetated side slopes. We will be lowering it temporarily as we install the last valve, but once that’s in we will be letting it refill.”
Merante explained in a letter-email to his constituents earlier this year that “Repairs to the dam controls were started 18 months ago to make the dam system functional again, in order to meet NYS DEC safety requirements to be able to drain the dam within 14-days. This renovation project would restore the banks of the reservoir, the spillway and spillway channel that feeds into Grassy Sprain Brook; remove the existing non-functioning 48” diameter drain valve below the dam embankment and install a new valve; replace 5 cast iron gates housed in the stone gatehouse in the reservoir; and restore the valve house and gatehouse. The dam and associated structures were built in stages between the late 1800’s and early 1900’s so the aged gates and the valve needed to be custom fabricated – a lengthy process. The valve itself was lowered 30 feet down into the valve chamber and assembled in place. The dam system also prevents excess water from spilling on to Tuckahoe Rd. The $1.6m project was funded largely by a grant from NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. The reservoir supplied drinking water to much of Yonkers before it was decommissioned in the 1970’s. Yonkers now obtains its water from the NYC reservoir system in the Catskills,” wrote Merante.
So a note to Nicholas the fisherman and all who are curious: The Sprain Lake will refill soon.
