Lake Carmel
Putnam County, New York240 acresView mapDirections
Not Rated: one monitoring station are on record, but they measured water clarity only. LakeQuality’s A–F method grades total phosphorus, total nitrogen, chlorophyll-a, and turbidity; clarity is shown, not scored.
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 53 ft max depth
- Limited data
Lake Carmel in Putnam County, New York is not rated for water quality — its monitoring record does not meet the evidence bar. Water clarity: 5.6 ft visibility. Surface area: 240 acres.
- Clarity
- 5.6 ft
- Max depth
- ~53 ft est.
- Area
- 240 acres
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Watch Lake Carmel’s letter
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Why Lake Carmel has no grade
Lake Carmel has monitoring on record from one station, but only water clarity was measured. LakeQuality’s A–F letter uses total phosphorus, total nitrogen, chlorophyll-a, and turbidity against EPA National Lakes Assessment condition classes. With none of those grading measurements on record, Lake Carmel is Not Rated — not an F. Its 5.6-foot median from 8 readings collected 2020 is still shown as clarity, but clarity alone cannot earn a letter.
Not Rated is EPA Integrated Reporting Category 3 — insufficient information. Everything below that has been measured is still reported on this page.
Sampling is run by NYSDEC and volunteer programs, and published through the EPA Water Quality Portal. Read the full grading methodology.
Lake Carmel is a 240-acre lake in Putnam County, New York with an estimated average depth of about 53 feet.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NYSDEC, last sampled 2020-09-27. Grade methodology: LakeQuality methodology.
Swimming Safety
Not ratedLimited data
The letter is not a swimming clearance. Lake Carmel is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Water quality measurements for Lake Carmel
These readings exist but are not enough for an A–F grade — see why.
Murky, only visible to about 5.6 ft. TSI 52.
| Metric | Value | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity (Secchi Depth) | 5.6 ft | Not graded |
| Phosphorus | No recent samples | |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No recent samples | |
| Trophic State Index (TSI) | 52 | Eutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Lake Details
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum Depth | ~53 ft est. |
| Average Depth | ~19 ft est. |
| Surface Area | 240 acres |
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. New York has not published bathymetry for Lake Carmel.
Lake Size & Watershed
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
Fishing Lake Carmel
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lake Carmel is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Lake Carmel Dam (completed 1930), built primarily for recreation on the MIDDLE BRANCH CROTON RIVER; earth-type dam, 25 ft tall and 475 ft long.
- Surface area
- 240 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,620 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 2,790 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 13 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- TOWN OF KENT
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NY00100 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Lake Carmel is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit NY1302-0006 · Official waterbody report
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
14 EPA-permitted facilities operate within about 5 miles of Lake Carmel under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits. 4 facilities have a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.
- Fair Street Dpw FacilityCarmel · 1.6 mi away · NPDES NY0264041Recent violation
- Brewster High SchoolBrewster · 3.4 mi away · NPDES NY0029521Recent violation
- Camp RePatterson · 3.8 mi away · NPDES NY0215112Recent violation
- Patterson Hamlet WwtpPatterson, Town Of · 4.5 mi away · NPDES NY0265080Recent violation
- Texaco Service StationLake Carmel · 0.1 mi away · NPDES NY0219649
- Frangel Realty LlcCarmel · 0.3 mi away · NPDES NY0143863
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 Putnam County
Frequently asked questions about Lake Carmel
Where is Lake Carmel?
- Lake Carmel is a lake in Putnam County, New York. LakeQuality has not rated this lake (UNRATED) — the only measurement available is water clarity, which is not a water-quality indicator on its own — EPA's National Lakes Assessment does not grade clarity.
What is the water quality grade for Lake Carmel?
- Lake Carmel in Putnam County, New York is not rated for water quality — its monitoring record does not meet the evidence bar. Water clarity: 5.6 ft visibility. Surface area: 240 acres.
Is Lake Carmel safe to swim in?
- The letter is not a swimming clearance. Lake Carmel is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Lake Carmel?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Lake Carmel, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 53 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate. The lake covers 240 acres.
Explore Lake Carmel across LakeQuality
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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)
Grade thresholds from the EPA National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See how grades are calculated and data sources.
Other records on this page
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)