The Croton River (pronounced "Crow-ton") is a river in southern New York that begins where the East and West Branches of the Croton River meet a little ways downstream from the Croton Falls Reservoir. Shortly downstream, the Croton River, along with its tributary, the Muscoot River, flow into the Muscoot Reservoir, and after flowing through that, it empties into the New Croton Reservoir. Shortly after, the water leaves the spillway at the New Croton Dam, and finally empties into the Hudson River at Croton-on-Hudson, New York. In the 1890s, New York City ordered the destruction or relocation of any village lining the Croton or its tributaries that threatened to pollute them; the Croton was, and still is, an important part of the water supply of New York City. Many of the villages and hamlets were moved, including all of the buildings surrounding Lake Mahopac, whose waters flowed into the Croton via a river that exited it. The city chose this kind of source protection instead of resorting to expensive filtration.
