Oradell Reservoir


The Oradell Reservoir is a reservoir formed by the Oradell Reservoir Dam on the Hackensack River in Bergen County, New Jersey, USA.

Geography

The Oradell Reservoir Dam is located primarily in the borough of Oradell, but the reservoir also extends across the borders of the nearby boroughs of Haworth, Emerson, Closter, and Harrington Park. The reservoir is fed by the Pascack Brook and Dwars Kill in addition to the Hackensack River. Upstream from the Oradell Reservoir are three other reservoirs: Woodcliff Lake Reservoir, also in Bergen County; Lake DeForest in Rockland County in New York; and Lake Tappan, traversing the borders of Bergen and Rockland counties across the state line.
The reservoir is transversed by a CSX Transportation bridge carrying crude oil.

History

Construction on the Oradell Reservoir began in 1901 by the dredging of a mill pond. The mill pond dam was replaced in 1911 by a low timber-crib dam that increased reservoir storage. In 1921, a high concrete Oradell Reservoir Dam was built to expand reservoir storage even more. The reservoir was completed in 1923. The Oradell Reservoir and its tributaries are currently protected with Category 1 water purity status in New Jersey. The reservoir is managed by United Water New Jersey, a unit of Suez North America, a private utility. It provides drinking water for an estimated 750,000 residents of Bergen and Hudson counties.