Woodcliff Lake Reservoir

Description

The reservoir has a capacity of approximately 871 e6USgal of water. 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 and a Watershed Permit obtained by payment of a yearly fee to the owner of the reservoir, Suez North America. Numerous waterfowl including various species of ducks and heron also live on and around the reservoir.

The reservoir may be crossed at two points, either by a narrow road over the dam, originally Dam Road and changed to Church Road when Christ Lutheran Church was built at the Pascack Road entrance, or a higher traffic county road over a causeway, Woodcliff Avenue. On the eastern side of the reservoir is the New Jersey Transit Pascack Valley Line, with the Woodcliff Lake station 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.

References

References

1. {{Gnis. 881917
2. Redmon, Kimberly. [http://www.northjersey.com/news/united-water-to-begin-dam-upgrades-in-woodcliff-lake-reservoir-1.731009?page=all "United Water to begin dam upgrades in Woodcliff Lake Reservoir"], ''Pascack Valley Community Life'', February 28, 2014. Accessed March 18, 2015. "United Water plans to lower Church Road, which is situated above the dam, for additional spillway capacity, as well as widen the narrow roadway. As a result, Church Road, an east-west thoroughfare through Hillsdale, will be closed to traffic from April 1 through Dec. 31, 2015."
3. [http://law.justia.com/cases/new-jersey/appellate-division-published/2014/a0299-13.html ''UNITED WATER NEW JERSEY, INC. v. BOROUGH OF HILLSDALE''], Justia. Accessed March 18, 2015. "The relevant facts are essentially undisputed. UWNJ provides water to customers in sixty municipalities in Bergen and Hudson Counties. To do so, UWNJ utilizes, among other facilities, the Woodcliff Lake Reservoir, which is located in Hillsdale and the Borough of Woodcliff Lake ('Woodcliff Lake'). One of the reservoir's structures is a dam across the Pascack Brook, which UWNJ's predecessor, Hackensack Water Company, constructed in 1904. The dam is traversed by Church Road, a private road owned by UWNJ that is subject to use easements held by Hillsdale and Woodcliff Lake."
4. "Hackensack Water Company, Form 10-K, Annual Report, Filing Date Mar 30, 1994". secdatabase.com.
5. [https://www1.wildlifelicense.com/nj/ New Jersey Fishing License], accessed July 20, 2006
6. [http://www.unitedwater.com/uwny/pdfs/WatershedApplic.pdf Watershed Recreation Permit Application], accessed July 20, 2006
7. [http://www.unitedwater.com/uwny/pdfs/UW_WatershedGuide.pdf Watershed Recreation Brochure], accessed July 20, 2006.
8. [http://www.waterindustry.org/New%20Projects/new-jersey-2.htm New Jersey Governor McGreevey Seeks Purity Standards for 2 Bergen Reservoirs] {{Webarchive. link. (2016-03-03 , accessed July 19, 2006.)