The Croton River Watershed contains multiple reservoirs holding water destined for NYC taps. It is among many such natural-ish holding tanks, from the Catskills to Westchester, that make up the city water supply. If you see NYC DEP Police far beyond the city limits, they are there as armed protection for such water. These reservoirs have beautiful tree-lined edges, owned by New York City, offering reflections of evening light to passersby.

Growing up in British Columbia, my father’s parlor trick was taking guests out to the lake next to my hometown and dipping a cup in the water and drinking it. If they were from a metropolitan area, it would be met with a horrified look. Surely, you will be sick?

I am doubtful this water would stand up to that test, if you could manage a drink without arrest. The cops protect the city from human contaminants, ensuring no one is to swim, play, or otherwise disrupt the sanctity of the precious resource. So you look out on a summer day, considering how nice it would be to take a dip, but worry that you’d be at the receiving end of a rifle should you put a toe in.

Rumors abound about locals regularly swimming. They know the spots and timing to get away with it. Some claim the enforcement is lax. I guess, in practice, it’s hard to police so many reservoirs, with so many sweltering suburbanites. They even have a helicopter that, the other day, I witnessed circling and announcing some sort-of threat at someone who maybe was peeing off a bridge.

There are carve-outs, though, and fishing is allowed. Stewart Marine, a Carmel-based unmotorized boat seller, has a complete monopoly on boat sales for reservoir fishing, specializing in fishing east of the Hudson, on DEP reservoirs. They will supply a DEP-certified boat to you, or steam clean one to make it clean and safe for the water. Jack, the founder of the company, has handed it down to his grandson. These boats sit scattered in designated areas alongside reservoirs all over the watershed.

The boating on my local lake, in a small town in British Columbia, feels positively anarchistic compared to all this. You’d ride for hours down the lake, at speed with a motor, it being some 90 miles long. No one would see you, or hear you, unless you ventured towards the minimally populated areas. Camping on public land along the lake offers you privacy and no human interaction for days on end, should you desire it.

I never thought swimming could be so illegal, and I’d live somewhere where they steam-cleaned boats, protecting water with force to ensure purity. Try having a dip, at your own risk. If you wish to fish, Stewart Marine is at 330 Overlook Ct. in Carmel, Tues-Fri 8-6, some weekend hours.