Don’t Worry, Sprain Lake Will Refill Soon

The Sprain Lake in Yonkers has been empty for almost two years

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.