Mary Elmer Lake is a
reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
on the
Cohansey River
The Cohansey River, also called Cohansey Creek, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 river in South Jersey.. The river drains approximately of rural agricul ...
in
Cumberland County, New Jersey
Cumberland County is a coastal county located on the Delaware Bay in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was 154,152, making it the 16th-largest of the state's 21 counties. Its county seat is Bridg ...
, used for water-supply and recreation purposes.
Description
The lake is located in the park system of the city of
Bridgeton,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, and is owned by the city. While the dam is within the city limits, most of the lake is within neighboring
Hopewell Township. At normal levels it has a surface area of .
Mary Elmer Lake Dam is of earthen construction, a gravity dam, with a height of and a length of . Maximum discharge is per second. Normal storage is . It drains an area of . The lake is fed by Barrett's Run, and the lake's water empties via a small stream into nearby
Sunset Lake and thence into the
Cohansey River
The Cohansey River, also called Cohansey Creek, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 river in South Jersey.. The river drains approximately of rural agricul ...
.
History
Mary Elmer Lake was originally known as Ireland's Mill Pond. Construction of the
dam
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...
was completed in 1924 by the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
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, anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day)
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, commander1 = ...
. The name was later changed to Mary Elmer Lake.
See also
*
Bridgeton, New Jersey Flood of 1934 The Flood of 1934 was a natural disaster that hit the town of Bridgeton, New Jersey on August 2 and 3, 1934. Over the course of three days, storms brought of rain to the region, swelling Sunset Lake and other local interconnected waterways. At the ...
References
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Bridgeton, New Jersey
Hopewell Township, Cumberland County, New Jersey
Bodies of water of Cumberland County, New Jersey
Reservoirs in New Jersey