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| Hackensack River | |
|---|---|
 | |
 ThePassaic and Hackensack watersheds | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Jersey,New York |
| Counties | Hudson, NJ,Bergen, NJ,Rockland, NY |
| City | Hackensack, NJ |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | New City,Rockland County,New York,United States |
| • coordinates | 41°11′00″N73°59′24″W / 41.18333°N 73.99000°W /41.18333; -73.99000 |
| • elevation | 120 ft (37 m) |
| Mouth | Newark Bay |
• location | Hudson County,New Jersey,United States |
• coordinates | 40°42′55″N74°06′42″W / 40.71528°N 74.11167°W /40.71528; -74.11167 |
• elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
| Length | 54 mi (87 km) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | New Milford, NJ |
| • minimum | 0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s) |
| • maximum | 880 cu ft/s (25 m3/s) |
TheHackensack River is a river, about 45 miles (72 km) long, in theU.S. states ofNew York andNew Jersey, emptying intoNewark Bay, a back chamber ofNew York Harbor. Thewatershed of the river includes part of the suburban area outside New York City just west of the lowerHudson River, which it roughly parallels, separated from it by theNew Jersey Palisades. It also flows through and drains theNew Jersey Meadowlands. The lower river, which is navigable as far as the city ofHackensack,[1] is heavily industrialized and forms a commercial extension of Newark Bay.
Once believed to be amongthe most polluted watercourses in the United States, it staged a modest revival by the late 2000s. The river is divided into the upper river, north of theOradell Reservoir andOradell Dam, and lower river, south of the reservoir and dam.
The Hackensack River rises in southeastern New York, inRockland County, in the Sweet Swamp, located in the hamlet ofNew City just west of the Hudson River and half a mile south ofHigh Tor State Park. It flows briefly southeast, into theLake 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 reservoirLake Tappan nearRiver Vale.
South of Lake Tappan, it flows in ameandering course southward through the suburban communities of New Jersey. NearOradell, it is impounded to formOradell Reservoir, where it is surrounded primarily by Oradell,Haworth, andEmerson, and joined by several streams, including theDwars Kill, the Cherry Brook, andPascack 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 through theOradell Dam throughRiver Edge,Hackensack,Teaneck,Bogota, andRidgefield Park, once again approaching within 3 mi (5 km) of the Hudson, and separated from it by the ridge of the Palisades.
AtLittle Ferry, it is joined by the broadOverpeck Creek, then flows southward, widening in a broad, meanderingtidalestuary through the Meadowlands, forming extensive side streams andwetlands. South ofNorth Bergen, it forms the boundary between Bergen County to the west andHudson County to the east. OppositeSecaucus it is joined byBerry's Creek, then flows past the western edge ofJersey City, which overlooks the river's valley from the ridge of the Palisades, before forming Newark Bay at its confluence with thePassaic River between Jersey City andKearny.
As it flows through the Meadowlands it is traversed by numerousrail and road bridges.
The name of the Hackensack River comes from theLenape wordAchinigeu-hach, orAckingsah-sack, meaning "flat confluence of streams"[citation needed] or "stony ground".[2] Conflicts with the Lenape prevented the earlyDutch settlers of theNew Netherland colony from expanding westward into the valley into late in the 17th century. The river furnished both theNative Americans and theEuropean settlers with abundant runs ofherring,shad, andstriped bass.
At the outset of thecolonial era, the river's watershed was home toLenape groups now known as theRumachenanck (or Haverstraw),Tappan, andHackensack, the latterexonym taken from an encampment near the confluence of the tributaryOverpeck Creek.[3] European settlement began in the mid-17th century as part of New Netherland, when the region was calledAchter Kol, meaning "rear pass" or "behind the ridge", to describe the valleys west of theHudson Palisades, which afforded passage to trapping grounds in the northern hinterlands.
The river and the surrounding meadowlands presented a formidable difficulty in transportation and communication. The wetlands helped allow the escape of theContinental Army underGeorge Washington in 1776 after several defeats at the hands of theBritish 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 nearMorristown.
Human alterations to land in the Hackensack meadowlands increased in the 19th century, including clearing forests, building roads, railroads, and ditches, and filling wetlands.[4]: 34–36 TheSecond Industrial Revolution led to construction of heavy manufacturing, storage tanks, and chemical-processing plants in the area during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The economic development and population increases in the watershed led to extensivewater pollution in the river, both from municipalsewage andindustrial wastewater. In the 20th century, untreated sewage discharges from the various towns and cities began to contribute significant amounts of pollutants to the river. The first sewage plant withsecondary treatment technology (which removes at least 85% of pollutants) did not open until the 1950s, and more treatment capacity was added in the region in the following decades.[5] Water-quality studies in the late 1980s indicated that the river continued to be impaired with low oxygen levels andnutrient pollution.[4]: 144 In the 21st century, many communities in the watershed continue to be drained bycombined sewers, which discharge untreated sewage during large rainstorms.[4]: 117
Development of new drinking-water supplies also had major environmental impacts on the river. The construction of the Oradell Reservoir dam in 1921 essentially changed the lower river from a free-flowing stream into abrackishestuary, allowing the encroachment of marine species.[4]: 112 Urbanization in the region intensified afterWorld War II, with the expansion of roads and highways, including theNew Jersey Turnpike (1952),[6] as well as theMeadowlands Sports Complex (1970s).[7]
By the 1960s, much of the lower river was essentially aturbid,hypoxic dead zone, with only the hardiest of species, such as themummichog, able to survive in its waters. Chemical companies dumped large volumes of waste intoBerry's Creek during the 20th century, resulting in the highest concentrations ofmethyl mercury of any freshwater sediment in the world, as well as extensive residues ofpolychlorinated biphenyls and other chemicals.[8][9] Three sites along the creek are federally designated asSuperfund sites and require major cleanup operations, which are ongoing as of 2022.[10][11][12]
The river recovered somewhat by the late 2000s, following the decline in manufacturing in the area, as well as from enforcement ofClean Water Act regulations and from the efforts of local conservancy groups. Recreational fishing has staged a modest comeback, althoughcatch and release may be advisable, as health advisories against the consumption of fish caught in the river are continuing.[13]Urban runoff pollution, municipal sewage discharges fromsanitary sewer overflows and combined sewer overflows, and runoff fromhazardous-waste sites continue to impair the river'swater quality.[14][15]
The future of thewetlands around the lower river has been an ongoing controversy betweendevelopment and preservation groups in recent decades. The Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission, later called theNew Jersey Meadowlands Commission, was established by the state in 1968 to manage development and habitat preservation.[16] The commission was merged into theNew Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority in 2015.[17]
TheU.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed designating the Lower Hackensack as a Superfund site, which would make it eligible forenvironmental remediation partially funded by original polluters.[18][19] In September 2022, the Lower Hackensack was declared a federalSuperfund site, triggering the process.[20][21][22]
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