Chadwick Lake is a reservoir supplying water to the Town of Newburgh, in Orange County, New York, United States, in which it is located. It is a man made lake created in 1926 on private property owned by the Chadwick family by damming Quassaick Creek. It was maintained for recreational purposes for 36 years. In 1962, it was purchased by the Town of Newburgh as a reservoir to supply the Town with water. In more recent years, its use as a water supply has been supplanted by the Delaware Aqueduct and so Chadwick Lake has reverted to its original function of a recreational facility. It is located immediately to the northwest of the junction of NY 32 and 300 in the Cronomer Valley section of the town. It is open to the public, and there are recreational facilities near the southern end. Most of the town's water is supplied today by New York City's Delaware Aqueduct, with the reservoir acting primarily as a backup. In the past, surplus water has been sold to private companies, and in 2006 to neighboring New Windsor during a water shortage there. At times, more often than not, the Town of Newburgh has relied exclusively on the Aqueduct since manganese levels in the lake give its waters a brownish tint. This is especially true since a new, state of the art water treatment plant at the Delaware Aqueduct went on line in early 2014. The recreational facilities at Chadwick Lake Park have been greatly enhanced and improved since the appointment of Robert Petrillo as the town's first Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Conservation in 2005. Facilities near the lake's southern end, include picnic shelters, two playgrounds, fitness and walking trails and boating launches. A recent expansion is adding basketball courts, a skating rink and an arboretum. Use is generally limited to town residents. Fishing is also allowed on the lake; largemouth bass is a common catch. A very popular addition to the park is a 4.2 mile hiking trail, which encircles the entire lake.
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