Lakes Committee

Mission Statement

Tuxedo Lake, Pond #3 and Wee Wah Lake all belong to our Village, unlike most lakes in New York State which belong to the State. Our community was built around them and they remain its focus. Most important, Tuxedo Lake provides drinking water to our Village residents and to some residents in the Town of Tuxedo, and its water flows into the Ramapo River, connecting with reservoirs that serve millions in New Jersey.

The health of the lakes and the quality of the water is our Village government’s responsibility and the critical concern of all Village residents. 

Established in the late 2000s the Committee advises and assists the Village Board of Trustees (BOT) on matters related to the ecological health of our lakes. It is an active participant of CSLAP (Citizens Statewide Lake Assessment Program), a volunteer lake monitoring and education program managed cooperatively by the DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) and NYSFOLA (New York State Federation of Lake Associations). 

In 2009 the Committee recommended, and the BOT sponsored, a comprehensive study of our lakes by the professional water resources management and engineering firm Princeton Hydro. The firm identified water quality and watershed issues (watershed is the mountainous areas of land that drains its water into Tuxedo Lake and its runoff lakes) and established baselines against which improvements (or deteriorations) could be measured. The committee further recommended, and the BOT approved the retention of a professional Lakes Manager to annually measure changes in the lake's water quality and advise the BOT on appropriate actions.  

In 2021 the Committee prepared a report on the Tuxedo watershed and recommended actions to reduce pollutant input naturally occurring in the soil as well as from manmade sources (e.g., fertilizers, pesticides and construction activities) into our lakes. Pollutants encourage the growth of invasive water plants such as Eurasian water-milfoil and harmful algae bloom and impair the health of the lakes and quality of the water.

Some progress has been made but much remains to be done.