November 3, 2022

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today announced the rescue of three fishermen from the Croton Falls Reservoir in Carmel Wednesday afternoon following the capsize of their rowboat.

The three individuals, who live in Queens and Long Island, were rescued Wednesday afternoon following the quick actions of a DEP Watershed employee who noticed a capsized rowboat in the reservoir shortly after noon while traveling over a reservoir causeway. That DEP watershed land management employee, Kevin Degnan, equipped with binoculars, noticed three people in the water next to the boat, immediately contacted 911, opened gates to enable emergency vehicle access to the reservoir and ultimately assisted as local emergency crews pulled the men and their gear from the water.

“It was a matter of being in the right place at the right time,” said Degnan, who is based in Mahopac and has been employed at DEP for 27 years. “I was driving by when something white caught my eye, out of the corner of my eye. DEP encourages all boaters to use personal flotation devices at all times when on the City’s reservoirs.”

The New York State Police, Carmel Police Department and the Mahopac and Mahopac Falls Fire Departments were first on the scene and joined by the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office and DEP Police including its aviation unit. Using boats from the shore, emergency responders were able to rescue the three individuals.

The three individuals rescued all have DEP permits allowing fishing on the reservoir and life preservers were in the boat though none of the three men was wearing them, forcing them to cling to the boat until they were rescued. Under New York State law, personal flotation devices are required to be worn and securely fastened by every passenger of a boat less than 16 feet in length from Nov. 1 through May 1, and DEP highly recommends every recreational boater always wear one. The three rescued boaters were interviewed by DEP Police and indicated that while fishing a sudden movement caused the boat to overturn.

The three men were all taken to Danbury Hospital for evaluation.

The Croton Falls Reservoir in the Putnam County Towns of Carmel and Southeast and is part of the New York City’s Croton System of Reservoirs.

DEP manages New York City’s water supply, providing more than 1 billion gallons of high-quality water each day to more than 9.6 million New Yorkers. This includes more than 70 upstate communities and institutions in Ulster, Orange, Putnam and Westchester counties who consume an average of 110 million total gallons of drinking water daily from New York City’s water supply system. This water comes from the Catskill, Delaware, and Croton watersheds that extend more than 125 miles from the City, and the system comprises 19 reservoirs, three controlled lakes, and numerous tunnels and aqueducts. DEP has nearly 6,000 employees, including almost 1,000 scientists, engineers, surveyors, watershed maintainers and other professionals in the watershed. In addition to its $70 million payroll and $168.9 million in annual taxes paid in upstate counties, DEP has invested more than $1.7 billion in watershed protection programs—including partnership organizations such as the Catskill Watershed Corporation and the Watershed Agricultural Council—that support sustainable farming practices, environmentally sensitive economic development, and local economic opportunity. In addition, DEP has a robust capital program with $20.1 billion in investments planned over the next decade that will create up to 3,000 construction-related jobs per year. For more information, visit nyc.gov/dep, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.