Howlands Lake
Westchester County, New York26 acresView mapDirections
NY DEC publishes the water-quality measurements for Howlands Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- Limited data
Howlands Lake in Westchester County, New York has water-quality measurements published by NY DEC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.1 ft visibility. Surface area: 26 acres.
Howlands Lake is a 26-acre lake in Westchester County, New York.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NYSDEC, last sampled 2020-10-04. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
No readingRecreation use not supported
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Howlands Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Howlands Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the New York Department of Environmental Conservation and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Howlands Lake
These are the measurements NY DEC publishes for Howlands Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Very murky, less than 3.1 ft of visibility. TSI 61.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.1ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | No reading The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water. | |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 61 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
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Lake Details
Surface area
26 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Howlands Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
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Fishing Howlands Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Howlands Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Howlands Lake Dam (completed 1895), built primarily for recreation on the KISCO RIVER; stone-type dam, 18 ft tall and 67 ft long.
- Surface area
- 26 ac
- Normal storage
- 132 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 184 ac-ft
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- BEDFORD LAKE PARK ASSOCIATION INC
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NY00973 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Howlands Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Recreation.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit NY1302-0147 · Official waterbody report
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
19 EPA-permitted facilities operate within about 5 miles of Howlands Lake under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits. 5 facilities have a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.
- Khal Adas KashauBedford Hills · 2.7 mi away · NPDES NY0147249Recent violation
- Fox Hollow Sewer Co. WwtpNew Castle · 3.1 mi away · NPDES NY0165425Recent violation
- Bedford (T) Highway DeptBedford Hills · 3.2 mi away · NPDES NY0264229Recent violation
- Bedford Hills / Katohah Business SdBedford Hills · 3.6 mi away · NPDES NY0101885Recent violation
- Lewisboro Elementary SchoolSouth Salem · 3.8 mi away · NPDES NY0036684Recent violation
- Byram Lake Filtration PlantMt. Kisco · 1.3 mi away · NPDES NY0264113
Facilities permitted to discharge under the Clean Water Act within ~5 miles; proximity does not by itself mean a facility affects this lake. Source: EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES), as of 2026-07.
Nearby Lakes in Westchester County
Frequently asked questions about Howlands Lake
Where is Howlands Lake?
- Howlands Lake is a lake in Westchester County, New York. Its water-quality measurements are published by NY DEC and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Howlands Lake?
- Howlands Lake in Westchester County, New York has water-quality measurements published by NY DEC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.1 ft visibility. Surface area: 26 acres.
Is Howlands Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Howlands Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
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Where this data comes from
8 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North American Lake Management Society
NALMS8 samples · 2020
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
EPA condition classes from the National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See where the data comes from and data sources.
Other records on this page
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)