Town Supervisors Prepare for Kayak Challenge; Reservoir Open for Guided Paddling
WEST NYACK, NY April 22, 2016 – The 60th anniversary celebration of Lake DeForest, the Supervisor’s Challenge and five hours of guided paddling will highlight the second annual Lake DeForest Day to be hosted by SUEZ on Sunday, May 22. More than 500 rowers, kayakers and canoers are expected to participate at the reservoir in West Nyack, NY.
“Lake DeForest Day is an exciting way to provide our customers with access to beautiful Lake DeForest,” said Chris Graziano, the vice president and general manager of SUEZ’ New York operations. “This is our featured community event of the year, and a great way to celebrate the local environment.”
The event will feature the Supervisor’s Challenge, a race scheduled for 10 a.m., matching the five town supervisors in a 200-meter tandem kayak competition. The winner will be presented the Supervisor’s Cup during the opening ceremonies at 10:30 a.m.
Guided paddling will be available at two sessions beginning at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Boaters can choose to rent single kayaks, double kayaks or canoes for 2 1/2 hours at $20 per paddler. Registration is pre-event only by visiting www.HackensackRiverkeeper.org. Only a limited number of boat rentals are available and will be assigned on a first come, first served basis.
Proceeds to Help Protect Hackensack River
All proceeds of the event will go to support the ongoing work of Hackensack Riverkeeper and its mission to protect, preserve and restore the Hackensack River. As one of the leading environmental groups in the northeast, Hackensack Riverkeeper is widely renowned for its advocacy, education and conservation programs that benefit the 45-mile long river, its watershed, people and wildlife. Through its partnership with SUEZ, Riverkeeper features paddling days on the Oradell, Lake Tappan and Lake DeForest reservoirs.
“We are very excited to extend our work to the headwaters of our common watershed and we expect this event to be immensely popular in Rockland in the coming years,” said Captain Bill Sheehan, founder and Executive Director of Hackensack Riverkeeper. “Each of these special events offers an opportunity for local residents to paddle these pristine bodies of water that are ordinarily closed to the public.”
Orange and Rockland Utilities is the sponsor of this year’s event.
“O&R and SUEZ are natural partners in this exciting event that has something fun for everyone,” said Tim Cawley, president and chief executive officer of Orange and Rockland Utilities. “O&R is a long-time supporter of the Hackensack Riverkeeper and we are deeply involved in a number of events like Lake DeForest Day that promote the environment. Happy 60th Anniversary, Lake DeForest.”
Lake DeForest, which is owned and operated by SUEZ, is a three-mile long reservoir located in the Town of Clarkstown and opened in 1956.
Kayaks will be Launched at Causeway
The boats will be launched at the south end of the causeway and parking will be available at the New City Little League field on Strawtown Road. In addition to the Supervisor’s Challenge and the guided paddling, local high school crew teams have been invited to practice on the reservoir during the early morning hours.
“We are delighted that Orange and Rockland Utilities will be the event sponsor and we are very grateful to Supervisor George Hoehmann and his staff, the New City Little League, the Town of Clarkstown Police Department, the Congers-Valley Cottage Volunteer Ambulance Corp and the River Rowing Association for their valuable assistance,” said Graziano
About SUEZ
SUEZ provides water service to approximately 300,000 people in Rockland and Orange counties in New York. In North America, the company operates across all 50 states and Canada with 3,430 employees dedicated to environmental sustainability and leading the resource revolution. The company owns 16 regulated water utilities, provides contracted public-private partnership services to 84 municipalities, offers water treatment and advanced network solutions to 16,000 industrial and municipal sites, provides drinking water and wastewater services to nearly 6.7 million people on a daily basis, processes 55,000 tons of waste for recycling and manages $3.3 billion in total assets. The company had revenues of $1.1 billion in 2014 and is a subsidiary of Paris-based SUEZ.
