Hackensack River articles from Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackensack_River:

The Hackensack River is a river, approximately 45 miles (72 km) long, in the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, emptying into Newark Bay, a back chamber ofNew York Harbor. The watershed of the river includes part of the suburban area outside New York City just west of the lower Hudson River, which it roughly parallels, separated from it by the New Jersey Palisades. It also flows through and drains theNew Jersey Meadowlands. The lower river, which is navigable as far as the city ofHackensack,[citation needed] is heavily industrialized and forms a commercial extension of Newark Bay. Once believed to be among the most polluted water courses in the United States, it had staged a modest revival by the late 2000s.

Description[edit] The Hackensack River rises in southeastern New York, in Rockland County, in the Sweet Swamp, just west of the Hudson River and approximately 1 mi (1.6 km) south of West Haverstraw. It flows briefly southeast, into the Lake DeForest reservoir, separated from the Hudson by less than 3 mi (5 km). South of the dam, it then flows south, diverging from the Hudson. Just across the New Jersey state line, in northernBergen County, it is impounded to form the reservoir Lake Tappan near River Vale. South of Lake Tappan, it flows in a meandering course southward through the suburban communities of New Jersey. Near Oradell, it is impounded to form Oradell Reservoir, where it is joined by several streams, including the Dwars Kill, the Cherry Brook and Pascack Brook. Van Buskirk Island, a man-made island and site of theNew Milford Plant of the Hackensack Water Company, lies in this area. South of the reservoir, it flows past River Edge, Hackensack, Teaneck, Bogota, and Ridgefield Park, once again approaching within 3 mi (5 km) of the Hudson, and separated from it by the ridge of the Palisades. At Little Ferry, it is joined by the broad Overpeck Creek, then flows southward, widening in a broad meandering tidal estuary through the Meadowlands, forming extensive side streams and wetlands. South of North Bergen, it forms the boundary between Bergen County to the west and Hudson County to the east. OppositeSecaucus it is joined by Berrys Creek, then flows past the western edge of Jersey City, which overlooks the river's valley from the ridge of the Palisades, before forming Newark Bay at its confluence with the Passaic River between Jersey City and Kearny. As it flows through the Meadowlands it is traversed by numerous rail and road bridges.

History[edit] Separating Hudson (foreground) and Bergen Counties

The name of the river comes from the Lenape word Achinigeu-hach, or Ackingsah-sack, meaningflat confluence of streams[citation needed] or stony ground.[1] Conflicts with the Lenape prevented the early Dutch settlers of the New Netherland colony from expanding westward into the valley into late in the 17th century. The river furnished both the Native Americans and the European settlers with abundant runs of herring, shad and striped bass. In the colonial era, the river and the surrounding Meadowlands presented a formidable difficulty in transportation and communication. The wetlands helped allow the escape of the Continental Army under George Washington in 1776 after several defeats at the hands of the British army on the east side of the Hudson. It later served as a protective barrier that allowed Washington's army to encamp in the nearby hills near Morristown.

Power plant

For two centuries, the river suffered from extremely severe pollution. The construction of the Oradell Reservoir dam in 1921 essentially changed the lower river from a free-flowing stream into a brackish estuary, allowing the encroachment of marine species. By the 1960s, much of the lower river was essentially a turbid oxygen-less dead zone, with only the hardiest of species such as the mummichog able to survive in its waters. Berrys Creek was once thought to be the most polluted stream in the United States. The river recovered somewhat by the late 2000s following the decline in manufacturing in the area, as well as from enforcement of Clean Water Act regulations and from the efforts of local conservancy groups. Recreational fishing has staged a modest comeback, although catch and release may be advisable, as there are continuing health advisories against the consumption of fish caught in the river. Urban runoff pollution, municipal sewage discharges from sanitary sewer overflows and combined sewer overflows, and runoff from hazardous waste sites continue to impair the river's water quality.[2][3] The future of the wetlands around the lower river has been an ongoing controversy between development and preservation groups in recent decades. The controversial Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission (now the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission) was established by the state in 1968 to manage development and habitat preservation. Oradell Reservoir https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oradell_Reservoir The Oradell Reservoir is a reservoir formed by the Oradell Reservoir Dam on theHackensack River in Bergen County, New Jersey, USA. The Oradell Reservoir Dam is located primarily in the borough of Oradell, but the reservoir also extends across the borders of the nearby boroughs of Haworth, Emerson, Closter, and Harrington Park. The reservoir is fed by the Pascack Brook and Dwars Kill in addition to the Hackensack River. Upstream from the Oradell Reservoir are three other reservoirs: Woodcliff Lake Reservoir, also in Bergen County;Lake DeForest in Rockland County in New York; and Lake Tappan, traversing the borders of Bergen and Rockland counties across the state line.

The reservoir is transversed by a CSX Transportation bridge[2][3][4] carrying crude oil.[5]

History[edit] Construction on the Oradell Reservoir began in 1901 by the dredging of a mill pond. The mill pond dam was replaced in 1911 by a low timber-crib dam that increased reservoir storage. In 1921, a 22- foot (6.7 m) high concrete Oradell Reservoir Dam was built to expand reservoir storage even more. The reservoir was completed in 1923.[6] The Oradell Reservoir and its tributaries are currently protected with Category 1 water purity status in New Jersey. The reservoir is managed by United Water New Jersey, a unit of United Water, a private utility. It provides drinking water for an estimated 750,000 residents of Bergen and Hudson counties.

Woodcliff Lake Reservoir https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodcliff_Lake_Reservoir Woodcliff Lake is the name of a reservoir in Woodcliff Lake and portions of Hillsdale andPark Ridge, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States.[2][3] It was created circa 1903 bydamming the Pascack Brook and is also fed by the Bear Brook which joins the Pascack at the reservoir. The creation of the lake led what had been the Borough of Woodcliff to change its name to Woodcliff Lake, to match the name of the new reservoir. The reservoir is owned by United Water, a private utility.

The reservoir has a capacity of approximately 871 million US gallons (3,300,000 m3) of water. [4] Water released into the Pascack Brook flows downstream into the Oradell Reservoir. When the water levels become low, the old stone bridge over the Pascack Brook becomes visible just south of the causeway. Several species of fish inhabit the reservoir including largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, carp, pumpkinseed, bluegill, brown and yellow bullheads, as well as large schools of both yellow and white perch. Fishing is restricted to those with a valid New Jersey Fishing License[5] and a Watershed Permit[6] obtained by payment of a yearly fee to the owner of the reservoir, United Water. Numerous waterfowl including various species of ducks and heron also live on and around the reservoir.[7] The reservoir may be crossed at two points, either by a narrow road over the dam, Church Road, or a higher traffic county road over acauseway, Woodcliff Avenue. On the eastern side of the reservoir is the New Jersey Transit Pascack Valley Line, with the Woodcliff Lakestation stop at Woodcliff Avenue. On March 11, 2003, Governor of New Jersey Jim McGreevey visited the nearby Lake Tappan reservoir and proposed protecting it, Woodcliff Lake and their tributaries with Category 1 water purity status.[8]

Lake Tappan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Tappan Lake Tappan is a reservoir impounded by the Tappan Dam on the Hackensack River, straddling the border between the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York. Within New Jersey, the lake traverses the border separating the municipalities of River Vale and Old Tappan in Bergen County, while extending northward across the New York state line into the town of Orangetown in Rockand County. The reservoir was formed in 1967, flooding areas that included the former CAPROC Field Civil Air Patrol airstrip.[2] The Lake Tappan reservoir covers 1,255 acres (5.1 km²), the majority of its area within New Jersey, and contains 3.5 billion US gallons (13,000,000 m3) of water, with up to 12 to 13 million US gallons (45,000 to 49,000 m3) released downstream daily into the Oradell Reservoir, which lies entirely within Bergen County in New Jersey. The passage of this water between reservoirs can occur in as rapidly as two to three hours. On March 11, 2003, New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey visited the reservoir and proposed protecting it as well as the nearby Woodcliff Lake Reservoir and their tributaries with Category 1 water purity status.[3] The reservoir is owned by United Water, a private utility. Lake Tappan is a local fishing spot as well, serving as a habitat for bluegill, bass, perch,catfish and carp.

Lake DeForest https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_DeForest Lake DeForest is a reservoir in Clarkstown, New York created in 1956 by impounding theHackensack River that is part of the water supply for Rockland County, New York andNorthern New Jersey, notably Bergen and Hudson counties. It was originally developed by the Hackensack Water Company which had been under the direction Robert W. de Forest from 1881 to 1926.[1] It is now owned and operated by United Water and is the most upstream of its three reservoirs along the river, the others being Lake Tappan and theOradell Reservoir. It has a storage capacity of 5.6 billion gallons.[2][3][4][5] The lake is traversed by a causeway carrying Congers Road (CR 80).

New Milford Water Filtration Plant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Milford_Plant_of_the_Hackensack_Water_Company

The New Milford Plant of the Hackensack Water Company was a water filtration and pumping plant located on Van Buskirk Island, an artificially created island in the Hackensack River, in Oradell, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. The site was purchased in 1881 by the Hackensack Water Company (now United Water). The facility was built between 1882 to 1911, with some buildings dating back to 1881, and it includes a brick 1882 pumping station, a tall filtration tower, and a huge underground infrastructure.[3]

Van Buskirk Island[edit] Van Buskirk Island is a man-made island formed in 1802, and was created by the dams for the mills, The Southern End was known as the old Dock, Upper Landing or Old Landing and was the official head of navigation on the Hackensack River (the highest point of navigable water on the river). Schooners plied the river regularly between Old Dock and New York. The land was also an industrial center from Pre-Revolutionary War times with several types of mills: saw mills, bark mills and finally a grist mill. After this it was used as the site for the Hackensack Water company from 1882. Site built and expanded, remains historically intact from 1911, including important steam equipment from the Industrial Revolution.

Preservation[edit] In 1990, United Water (formerly Hackensack Water Co.) ceased using the site and offered it to Oradell, then Bergen County. The island is currently in a state of transition and the focus of a battle between the county and conservation groups regarding its future status and use as a park and/or recreational area. Preservation New Jersey voted the plant "One of 10 Most Endangered Historic Sites" in 1996. In 2002, the National Trust for Historic Preservationplaced Hackensack Water Company site on its list of 11 Most Endangered National Historic Places. In May 2001, the site was listed on New Jersey Register of Historic Places - Period of Historic Importance 1882-1914. The site is currently in a state of disrepair, and although proposals have been made by Bergen County for what to do with the site, its future is uncertain. Bergen County Division of Historic and Cultural Affairs is attempting to build public support for redeveloping the site.[4] In August 2011, the state awarded $704,000 to be administered by the New Jersey Historic Trust for the stabilization of buildings at the complex so that the site could be opened to the general public.[5]