The rivers headwater is a small pond at the intersection of Horsepound Road and
NY State Route 52 about one mile north of the hamlet of
Lake Carmel in the far central eastern part of the town of
Kent in Putnam County. It is shortly joined by a small stream, then runs into manmade
Lake Carmel, one of the few sizable bodies of water in the
Croton River watershed that is not part of the
New York City water supply system. It drains out due east midway along the lake then promptly heads strongly south for about three miles before spilling into
Middle Branch Reservoir in the town of
Carmel, New York. It then flows into the
Croton Falls Reservoir immediately above the Westchester border, where it commingles with some waters of the
East Branch Croton River flowing out of the
Diverting Reservoir immediately to the east of the Croton Falls Reservoir and the whole flow of the
West Branch Croton River. These combined waters exit the Croton Falls Reservoir for a brief stretch of the West Branch alone, which joins the rest of the East Branch at the confluence of the
Croton River proper in
Croton Falls, a hamlet of the town of
North Salem, New York, in northern Westchester County. ==See also==