| Fishkill Creek | |
|---|---|
 Fishkill Creek fromNY 52 nearBrinckerhoff | |
 Fishkill Creek watershed | |
| Etymology | Dutch for "fishstream" |
| Native name | Matteawan[1] (Munsee) |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| Region | Hudson Valley |
| County | Dutchess |
| Towns | Union Vale,Beekman,East Fishkill,Fishkill |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Pray Pond |
| • coordinates | 41°40′38″N73°40′38″W / 41.67722°N 73.67722°W /41.67722; -73.67722 |
| • elevation | 480 ft (150 m) |
| Mouth | Hudson River S of Denning Point |
• coordinates | 41°28′55″N73°59′8″W / 41.48194°N 73.98556°W /41.48194; -73.98556 |
• elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
| Length | 33.5 mi (53.9 km), SW |
| Basin size | 193 sq mi (500 km2) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Beacon |
| • average | 205 cu ft/s (5.8 m3/s) |
| • minimum | 1.1 cu ft/s (0.031 m3/s)September 12, 1964 |
| • maximum | 6,970 cu ft/s (197 m3/s)August 20, 1955 |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Hopewell Junction |
| • average | 130 cu ft/s (3.7 m3/s) |
| • minimum | 25 cu ft/s (0.71 m3/s)1965 |
| • maximum | 140 cu ft/s (4.0 m3/s)1972 |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Whaley Lake Brook,Clove Creek |
| • right | Whortlekill Creek [ceb],Sprout Creek |
Fishkill Creek (alsoFish Kill, from the Dutchviskille, for "fish creek") is atributary of theHudson River inDutchess County, New York, United States. At 33.5 miles (53.9 km)[2] it is the second-longest stream in the county, afterWappinger Creek. It rises in the town ofUnion Vale and flows generally southwest to a smallestuary on the Hudson just south ofBeacon. Part of its 193-square-mile (500 km2)watershed[3] is inPutnam County to the south.Sprout Creek, the county's third-longest creek, is its most significant tributary.Whaley andSylvan lakes andBeacon Reservoir, its largest, deepest and highest lakes, are among the bodies of water within the watershed.
While the creek is not impounded for use in any local water supply, it remains a focus of regional conservation efforts as a recreational and aesthetic resource, especially since the lower Fishkill watershed has been extensively developed in the last two decades. It flows through several local parks and is a populartrout stream. Industries and mills along it helped spur the settlement of the region.
Clove and Sweezy brooks, themselves fed by tributaries named and unnamed draining the steep slopes on either side of the narrow upper Clove Valley in the town ofUnion Vale, drain the swamps of the valley intoPray Pond just north of thehamlet of Clove. Fishkill Creek is the pond's outflow.[4]
It follows Clove Valley Road (County Route 9) closely at first, flowing almost due south alongside it, then swings westward into woods after receiving Christie Pond's outlet brook opposite Clove Cemetery. At a short loop in a swampy area where Bruzgul Road (County Route 21) crosses twice, it receives another tributary, doubles back to the north around a hill to receive another one and then returns to its southward course to widen into McKinney Pond. Once it crosses Bruzgul Road again, it is in Tymor Park, Union Vale's major community center.[4]
At the park's south end it flows into Furnace Pond, named for an iron mine that was once nearby, and then into the town ofBeekman. It returns to the side of County Route 9, now Clove Valley Road, and crosses under theNY 55state highway just west of its intersection with Route 9. As that road climbs the side of a hill, Fishkill Creek crosses to its east side.[4]
It continues past Beekman's main park to the hamlet of Beekman, then is impounded into a new, unnamed lake nearGreen Haven Correctional Facility. Shortly afterwards it crosses into the town ofEast Fishkill. At the town line, south of the hamlet of Stormville, it receives theWhaley Lake outlet brook.[5] It flows westerly through more woods and swamps to where it receives theSylvan Lake outlet brook just east of theTaconic State Parkway. After crossing underneath, it parallels the parkway south on its west side, then turns west again and makes a northward bend around another hill to once again parallel County Route 9, now Beekman Road, for a short distance, then follows the hill's base to the south. From here it meanders under theMetro-NorthBeacon Line south ofHopewell Junction where it receivesWhortlekill Creek [ceb]. It passes the Hopewell Recreation Center and then flows underNY 376.[6]
It parallels another state road,NY 82, through a wooded, undeveloped area for several miles to where it receives its longest tributary,Sprout Creek, at theFishkill town line. It widens into a series of large pools south ofBrinckerhoff, at the foot of Honness Mountain whereNY 52 crosses.[6]
From here it flows more to the west-southwest, a wide stream paralleling Route 52 and the Beacon Line. It crosses underUS 9 in a developed area just south of thevillage ofFishkill. It then turns to the southwest again and receives Clove Creek, a tributary that rises inFahnestock State Park to the south and drains the Putnam County portion of the Fishkill watershed, just before it flows underInterstate 84.[7]
Beyond the interstate it continues southwest alongside the base of the northern slopes of Fishkill Ridge, the northernmost end of theHudson Highlands. It detours slightly to the north near Glenham and then resumes its southwesterly course as it flows into the city ofBeacon, where it passes through the eastern section of the city in a narrow valley with the Beacon Line running along its shore. There are many rapids and waterfalls as it descends more sharply to the Hudson. Here it receives its last tributary, Dry Brook, which drainsBeacon Reservoir on the ridgetop.[7]
South of the Wolcott Avenue (NY 9D) bridge, the shores become wooded again as it flows over Tioronda Dam and under the remains ofTioronda Bridge. Below here the creek'sestuary opens up, and after being split by a small island it flows under acauseway carrying Metro-North'sHudson Line and empties into the Hudson south of Denning Point.[8]
Fishkill Creek's 193-square-mile (500 km2)watershed is the second largest in Dutchess County afterWappinger Creek to the north. It includes almost the entire towns of Beekman and Union Vale, large portions of East Fishkill and Fishkill, sections ofLaGrange andWappinger and small areas inPleasant Valley andWashington. TheWhaley Lake basin, which also includesLittle Whaley [ceb] andNuclear lakes, is inPawling. In Putnam County the largest town represented isPhilipstown, whose northwestern section (the Clove Creek watershed) drains into the Fishkill. A small portion is inKent, with an even smaller portion inPutnam Valley marking the watershed's southernmost point.[3]
To the north is the Wappinger Creek watershed. TheTen Mile River basin, the only portion of New York that drains into theHousatonic River, is to the east. On the southeast are the headwaters of theCroton River, an important part ofNew York City's water supply, with smaller tributaries of the Hudson likeMelzingah Brook and Surprise Brook rising on the southeast.
The creek's valley is mostly low-lying level land, with the exception of the area above its headwaters in Union Vale. Most of its descent takes place either in its uppermost 10 miles (16 km), above Poughquag, or its lowermost 5 miles (8 km), below the village of Fishkill, both stretches of which account for 200 feet (61 m) each of its total drop. The average elevation within the watershed is 635 feet (194 m) abovesea level.[9] To the south and east are hiller regions of theTaconic Mountains, part of theHighlands Provincephysiographic region of theAppalachian Mountains. The highest point in the Fishkill's watershed is 1,610-foot (490 m)South Beacon Mountain, also the highest peak of theHudson Highlands, a few miles from the creek's estuary, which is almost at sea level.[9] In Union Vale, near the creek's source,Clove Mountain rises to 1,400 feet (430 m).
There are 338 miles (544 km) of tributaries within the watershed. The longest isSprout Creek,[9] which flows south 18.5 miles (29.8 km)[10] fromMillbrook toHopewell Junction. Within the watershed, there are also around 1,575 acres (637 ha) of ponds or lakes. The largest of these isWhaley Lake, at 252 acres (102 ha)[3] also the largest lake in the county. The next-largest lake in the watershed,Sylvan Lake, is the county's deepest.[11]
Water bodies andwetlands cover about 9.8% of the total watershed area. Forests cover 50%, the largestland use category in it. Most are concentrated in the northern, eastern and southern extremes. Residential and agricultural uses account for 21% and 10% respectively. Residential use is heaviest along the lower Sprout Creek and the lower section of Fishkill Creek from Fishkill to Beacon. Agricultural use is most common on the fringes of the more developed areas near the streams.[12]
There are many parks andprotected areas within the watershed. The largest is 14,086-acre (5,700 ha)Clarence Fahnestock State Park in Putnam County; however only a portion of that park is within the Fishkill Creek basin. The largest protected area entirely within the watershed is the 3,000-acre (1,200 ha)Sharpe Reservation straddling the county line. TheFishkill Ridge Conservation Area, 1,030 acres (420 ha) on that mountain, is the largest within the area open to the public. Publicly protected areas in the watershed include 50 acres (20 ha)James Baird State Park off the Taconic Parkway and the 909 acres (368 ha) Taconic-Hereford Multiple Use Area nearby. Union Vale's 500-acre (200 ha) Tymor Park near the creek's source is the largest local park. TheInnisfree Garden landscape inPleasant Valley, near the north end of the watershed, is irrigated with water pumped from Tyrrell Lake. In addition, 20 miles (32 km) of theAppalachian Trail runs along the southern fringe of the watershed, much of it on other protected lands or corridor owned by theNational Park Service.[13]
Of the municipalities predominantly within the watershed, East Fishkill is the most populous, with more than 25,000 residents as of the2000 census. The town and village of Fishkill are the next largest with almost 22,000. Beacon, the third-most populous community in the watershed at almost 14,000, has the highestpopulation density in the watershed with 2,892 people per square mile.[14]
Based on weather reports from theInstitute of Ecosystem Studies (IES) near Millbrook andDutchess County Airport in Wappinger, both just outside it to the north and west respectively, the watershed has thehumid continental climate typical of much of theNortheast. Temperatures tend to vary considerably over the year, with periods of unusual extremes of heat or cold possible.[15]
The average annual temperature recorded over a 30-year period at the airport is 49.3 °F (9.6 °C). Monthly means range from 24.7 °F (−4.1 °C) in January to 72.4 °F (22.4 °C) in July. Average annual precipitation is 43.8 inches (1,110 mm), with minimum monthly means varying from 2.6 inches (66 mm) in February to 4.8 inches (120 mm) in May. An average of 34.5 inches (880 mm) of snow falls in the watershed each year, with January's 10.6-inch (270 mm) snowfall being the highest monthly mean. There are 6,267 annualheating degree days and 645 cooling degree days.[15]
IES has measuredprecipitation acidity in the area since 1984. Rainfall in the area has an averagepH of 4.27, with averages falling to 4.00 in July but rising to 4.54 in November. This means the rain in Dutchess County and the watershed is ten times more acidic than the natural 5.2 reading for precipitation.[15]
There are 13 dams along the creek. Five are located in Beacon,[16] most built to serve past industry there[17] (one is still used forhydroelectric power generation.[18] The highest, near the city's downtown section, is 40 feet (12 m) tall.[19]
Three are in Beekman and two are in Fishkill,[16] the latter built byTexaco for a research facility it ran in the area from 1931 to 2003.[20] The dams along the upper Fishkill impound the stream into oldmill ponds, such as Furnace Pond in Tymor Park, just above the site of an old iron smelter, giving the pond its name.[21] The dams prevent the upstream movement of fish at all stages of the creek.[18]
The oldest extant bridge over the creek isTioronda Bridge, just above its estuary in Beacon. It was an ironbowstring truss bridge built shortly after theCivil War that carried South Avenue across the Fishkill.[22]It was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 1976, but it had deteriorated so much that by the end of the 20th century it had been closed even to pedestrians. In 2006 the city dismantled it, preserving the bowstring trusses for possible reuse on a rebuilt bridge.[23] The abutments remain in the stream, carrying some utility pipes only.
The creek and its watershed support a great diversity of species. As afishery, it isstocked withbrown trout, and has a significantbrook trout population as well. The estuary supports alargemouth andsmallmouth bass population.[24]
Some plant and animal species found near the creek and in its watershed are on the state list ofendangered orthreatened species. The former include thebog turtle,wild hydrangea andlive-forever. Threatened species in the creek and watershed include thebald eagle,Blanding's turtle,least bittern,pied-billed grebe,stiff-leaf goldenrod,swamp cottonwood andblazing star. Severalsalamander and turtle species are alsospecies of concern.Eurasian watermilfoil, aninvasive species, has been seen in some areas.[24]
The creek flows through two distinct geological regions within the Highlands: the Mid-Hudson Valley and theHudson Highlands. Both have different types ofbedrock, impacting the nature of the stream and allowing for differences inaquifer development.[25]
The Mid-Hudson Valley region underlying most of Fishkill Creek consists ofsedimentary rocks such asshales,sandstones,siltstones anddolomiticlimestones that formed during theCambrian andOrdovician periods of thePaleozoic Era, roughly 450–540 million years ago. These rocks become modified intometamorphic equivalents as a result of theformation of theAppalachian Mountains, which left largethrust faults in the area, the further east one gets from the Hudson. Shales becomeschists, limestones becomemarbles, and sandstone becomequartzites in the eastern regions of Dutchess County. These rocks create better aquifers than their sedimentary counterparts.[25]
In the Hudson Highlands, the stream's bedrock is primarily metamorphicgneiss, with somegranite andamphibolite. These are older rocks, formed in high temperatures and pressures more than a billion years ago in thePre-Cambrian. These generally make poor aquifers, although individual houses can use one if they overlie a fault wheregroundwater collects.[25]
TheIroquois tribes of the area called the streamTioronda: "Little stream that flows into big water".[26]Dutch settlers called itVis Kill (Dutch for "fish creek"[27]) for the abundant fish in the stream.[28] When control of the area passed to theEnglish, it wasAnglicized toFishkill Creek (the addition of "Creek" creates a bilingual tautology, as kill is the Dutch word for creek, though this is not common knowledge to English speakers).
In the late 17th century, two New York City merchants,Francis Rombout andGulian Verplanck, bought 85,000 acres (34,000 ha), most of it in the creek's watershed, from the local Indians. Verplanck died before the transaction could be finished, and with his share divided among his heirs the land became known as theRombout Patent. In 1709 his daughterCatheryna and her husband Roger Brett became the first European settlers in the Fishkill valley. She administered thesubdivision and sale of the patent lands fromher house, which still stands near downtown Beacon, the oldest continuously occupied house in Dutchess County.[28] They also built the first mill on the creek in 1717.
The upper Fishkill was settled around the same time. Henry Beekman, after boundary disputes with the Rombout patentees were resolved in their favor, obtained a crown grant of his own in 1703 for the lands now in the towns of Beekman and Union Vale. In 1710 the first settlers put down roots. One of them, six years later, was Zacharias Flagler, ancestor ofHenry Morrison Flagler.[29]
During theRevolutionary War, the Fishkill south of the village of Fishkill was a key location for theContinental Army. Troops were on continuous alert should theBritish Army try to push up through the Highlands to the south and retake theHudson Valley, a move that could have cut the colonies in half. At the junction of two major overland routes, it was alsothe site of a key supply depot, and a large encampment of soldiers was located on 70 acres (28 ha) on the south of the creek, about where theinterchange ofInterstate 84 andUS 9 is located now.George Washington passed through the area frequently. In 2009 the graves of as many as 700 soldiers were discovered at the site.[30]
Asindustrialization began in the 19th century, factories joined the mills in tapping the Fishkill for waterpower. They also discharged their wastes into the stream. In 1853 businessmen in Matteawan, now part of Beacon, dammed Whaley Lake to control water levels downstream, expanding the lake to its present size.[31]
In the early 20th century the watershed was among the many considered by a state commission[32] for an expansion of theNew York City water supply system, which was being strained by the city's rapid growth. The commission postulated that a reservoir near Stormville could be built for a cost of $17.4 million[33] ($609 million in contemporary dollars[34]) and provide storage capacity of 52.7 billion US gallons (199,000,000 m3).[35] The Fishkill had the advantage of being immediately to the north of theCroton River watershed in Putnam andWestchester counties already tapped by the city, so it would not be necessary to build a longaqueduct to bring water to the city from the new reservoir.[32]
"[I]ts waters can be secured more quickly than those of any other supply of equal amount" in the state, the commission wrote in its 1904 report.[32] The city ultimately decided not to use the Fishkill and instead acquired the land to buildAshokan Reservoir onEsopus Creek inUlster County, across the Hudson.
In the later 20th century, after the industrial use of the lower watershed had declined somewhat, the area saw explosive population growth. Former farmlands were redeveloped as residential subdivisions, and southeastern Dutchess County became anexurban area of New York City. This increased runoff and other discharges into the stream.
The main stem of the Fishkill is not used as a water supply, although some of its tributaries are, such as Beacon's Dry Brook, impounded by the city forBeacon Reservoir. Nor is itnavigable due to its many dams. It has nevertheless been a focus of local conservation efforts both as a local scenic and recreational resource and as an indicator of the health of the aquifers around it.
In 1975, just as development of the lower watershed was beginning to accelerate, theUnited States Geological Survey closed the Hopewell Junctionstream gauge. The Beacon stream gauge had already been shut down in 1967. There has thus been no consistent data onstreamflow, a frequent measure of development's impact on a stream, since then. At the time of their respective closures, the Beacon station showed a slow decline in discharge, while the Hopewell Junction station showed an increase. A 1992 study predicted that if current demographic and hydrologic trends continue both the Fishkill and Sprout could expect to have an annual weeklong dry period by 2035.[36]
Recent biological and chemical testing indicateswater quality has been improving in the upper watershed (above the village of Fishkill) but remains low below it, particularly in the creek within the city of Beacon, with an improvement just above the estuary.[3] There are 25 State Pollution Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permits issued by the stateDepartment of Environmental Conservation (DEC) within the watershed, four of which are on the Fishkill itself.[37] A further 64 permits have been issued for groundwater discharge.
The largest facilities to have SPDES permits on the Fishkill itself are the formerTexaco facility at Glenham, between Beacon and the village of Fishkill, and Green Haven.Chevron, which took over the former from Texaco, closed it in 2003. TheEnvironmental Protection Agency has been monitoring cleanup efforts of thevolatile organic compounds at the site and considers them to be progressing according to schedule.[20]
An ongoing concern is theIBM facility in East Fishkill, which dumps its wastewater into Gildersleeves Brook, a tributary ofWiccopee Creek [ceb]. In 2002, the company introduced a new method ofchip manufacture on 300 mmsiliconwafers. Within four years the plant had become the state's topwater polluter by pounds of pollutants in the 3.2 million US gallons (12,000 m3) the plant releases into the creek every day, as production expanded due to demand for the chips, which power thePlayStation 3 video game console, primarilycopper,lead andnitrates. In 2004 the company settled a suit brought by local residents who argued that a contractor's dumping ofperchloroethylene had led to an increase in cancer and other diseases. Researchers have so far been unable to determine if some phenomena reported downstream, such as increased lead levels incrustaceans, are the result of the IBM discharges.[38]
In 2005 the Fishkill Creek Watershed Committee, in partnership with the Dutchess County Environmental Management Council, inventoried the natural resources of the stream and watershed to produce a management plan. It focused on protecting groundwater, which many residents surveyed had expressed the greatest level of concern about. Recommendations made were to expand and maintainriparian buffer along the stream while protecting it against encroaching land use, and to find a way to balance groundwater withdrawals and discharges. It also called for research into alternatives to the use of impervious surfaces, such asasphalt, which increased runoff at the expense of groundwater.[39]
There are also two unnamed dams in the town of Beekman.
In the manufacturing days, they used water to supply power for operating equipment.
{{cite web}}:|archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)The dam, built in 1853 by Beacon business owners to control water levels through Fishkill Creek ...
