Woodcliff Lake is the name of 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 ...

in Woodcliff Lake and portions of Hillsdale and Park Ridge, in

Bergen County Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.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 ...

, United States. It was created circa 1903 by

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 ...

ming the

Pascack Brook Pascack Brook is a tributary of the Hackensack River in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. History At least one late 18th-century map calls the brook "Great Pascack River." Its tributary Musquapsink Brook is shown as "Little Pascack River. ...

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

Suez North America Suez North America, founded as the Hackensack Water Company in 1869 and later named United Water, is an American water service company headquartered in Paramus, New Jersey. It owns and operates 16 water and waste water utilities, and operates 90 ...

, a private utility. The reservoir has a capacity of approximately of water. Water released into the Pascack Brook flows downstream into the

Oradell Reservoir The Oradell Reservoir is a reservoir formed by the Oradell Reservoir Dam on the Hackensack River in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. Geography The Oradell Reservoir Dam is located primarily in the borough of Oradell, but the 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,

. 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 A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tra ...

, Woodcliff Avenue. On the eastern side of the reservoir is the

New Jersey Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

Pascack Valley Line The Pascack Valley Line is a commuter rail line operated by the Hoboken Division of New Jersey Transit, in the United States. The line runs north from Hoboken Terminal, through Hudson County and Bergen County in New Jersey, and into Rockland Co ...

, with the Woodcliff Lake station stop at Woodcliff Avenue. On March 11, 2003,

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official res ...

Jim McGreevey James Edward McGreevey (born August 6, 1957) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 52nd governor of New Jersey from 2002 until his resignation in 2004 following the revelation of his extramarital affair w ...

visited the nearby

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 Val ...

reservoir and proposed protecting it, Woodcliff Lake and their tributaries with Category 1 water purity status.New Jersey Governor McGreevey Seeks Purity Standards for 2 Bergen Reservoirs
accessed July 19, 2006.

References

External links

United Water
(utility)
Summary of Monthly Hydrologic Conditions in New Jersey
{{authority control Bodies of water of Bergen County, New Jersey Reservoirs in New Jersey Hillsdale, New Jersey Park Ridge, New Jersey Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey United Water

See also

References

External links