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Passaic River Flood Commission studies you know what

June 6th, 2010 admin No comments

Hydrology experts call the Passaic River one of the most flood prone rivers in the U.S. Public officials have been trying to deal with the Passaic’s chronic flooding for more than 150 years, digging ditches through wetlands to improve drainage, building dams and reservoirs to control storm water, widening and dredging the river’s channel to ease flow. Nothing helped. The Passaic has kept on flooding. Now, it’s Governor Chris Christie’s turn.

Christie appointed a new Passaic River Flood Advisory Commission and charged its seven members with submitting a report by year’s end on ways to prevent and respond to flooding. The Commission held its first public meeting in May at Montclair State; two more public hearings are expected in July and August.

The Commission will review the many previously recommended solutions, including expanding and accelerating the state program that buys up properties in the river’s floodplain, and revisiting some old Army Corps of Engineers’ flood control suggestions. Follow the Commission’s progress and learn when and where the public hearings will be held.

Despite the Commission’s best effort, however, we have to recognize and accept the fact that flooding is what a river does. What makes the Passaic’s natural spring and fall high water so problematic is all the homes and businesses that have been built in the river’s natural floodplain, and the destruction of the acres of wetlands which, had they been preserved, would have absorbed and protected communities from the excess water.

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Exploring the Passaic River

December 5th, 2009 admin No comments

Despite the fact that I grew up along the Passaic (in North Arlington, N.J.) I never really explored the river as a kid. In fact, I was well into middle age by the time I took my first boat trip on the Passaic. But these days, plenty of people are exploring the Passaic – and they’re recording their adventures. Here’s two very different Passaic River video diaries that caught my eye:

This first one, from Igindoff, shows his October 2009 paddle from Lord Stirling Bridge upstream into the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. There are more paddle videos on Igindoff’s YouTube page.

This next video, courtesy of Wheeler Antabanez, is kinda trippy. If you like it, here’s where to find more of Wheeler’s work.

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Lisa Jackson pics Judith Enck as EPA’s new region 2 administrator

November 14th, 2009 admin No comments

Lisa Jackson, federal EPA chief and former head of New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection, recently appointed Judith Enck as the EPA’s new Regional Administrator for Region 2, which includes New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Enck was New York State’s Deputy Secretary of the Environment under NY Governors Eliot Spitzer and David Patterson. She replaces former Region 2 administrator Alan Steinberg. Enck is one of Jackson’s five new Regional Administrator pics. (Regions 1, 3, 6 and 9 got new top dogs too.) Three of the five, including Enck, wrote Alan Steinberg recently in PolitickerNJ.com, ” have deep roots in the environmental advocacy community.” Amen to that. Back in May 2007 The New York Times referred to Enck as “tart-tongued.” No doubt Jackson had Enck’s tart tongue in mind when she picked her as the person who will trade barbs with the corporations responsible for polluting and now cleaning up the Passaic.

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Couple paddles Passaic and Rockaway rivers

November 14th, 2009 admin No comments

Check out the latest post on Larry and Kathy’s Kayak Adventures blog. The intrepid pair put into the Rockaway from the Essex County Environmental Center in Eagle Rock on a recent Sunday and paddled downstream to its confluence with the Passaic. (The Rockaway is one of the Passaic’s major tributaries.) It’s a nicely written paddle log with lots of great photos.

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Summit, Berkeley Heights residents join forces to improve their Passaic

November 14th, 2009 admin No comments

A group of concerned folks from Summit and Berkeley Heights is leading a volunteer effort to clean up their stretch of the Passaic. Their focus is conservation and recreation. The group’s first meeting will be held on Monday, November 30 at 7:30pm at the Summit City Hall (512 Springfield Avenue). Residents and Passaic River lovers welcome. The nonprofit Passaic River Coalition, the oldest Passaic River advocacy group, is offering professional guidance for the project, which is supported by the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions and the New Jersey-based Geraldine Dodge Foundation.

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Head of the Passaic photos

October 19th, 2009 admin No comments

If you missed this year’s ninth annual Head of the Passaic regatta – or if you just want to relive the spectacle of Passaic River rowing – check out this Head of the Passaic slideshow from photographer John Bruno.


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Passaic River makes Jeopardy

October 7th, 2009 admin No comments

The Passaic and Raritan rivers were an answer on Tuesday, October 6th’s installment of Jeopardy. The category was “State of the Rivers.” Contestants had to identify the state that was home to the two rivers in each answer. Contestant Nicole Labruto from Spring Lake Heights, N.J. nailed it. Nicole went on to lose in Final Jeopardy, but she did New Jersey proud. And we thank the folks at Jeopardy for showcasing the Passaic.

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Tales and memories of the Passaic River

October 4th, 2009 admin No comments

I grew up along the Passaic River in North Arlington. As a kid, I mostly steered clear of the river because, well, because I grew up in the sixties and back then the Passaic was even dirtier and creepier than it is today. But even though the Passaic scared me, it touched me too. I wasn’t sure what had happened to the river, how it had come to be so filthy and forgotten. But I was pretty certain, even as a kid, that whatever had happened to the Passaic hadn’t been the river’s fault. I was afraid of the Passaic, but mostly I felt sorry for it. I wonder if anyone else out there remembers feeling that kind of compassion towards the Passaic. If anyone out there has a story or a feeling or memory about New Jersey’s longest, crookedest, most historic and abused river, would you share it? Here’s mine.

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Fed dollars to purchase flood-prone Passaic River homes?

October 4th, 2009 admin No comments

Congressman Bill Pascrell (D-NJ-08) announced recently that the U.S. House of Representatives approved an Energy and Water Appropriations bill which includes $5 million to buy up private homes in extremely flood-prone neighborhoods of Wayne and Pompton Lakes. The homes, about 30 in all, sit in the Passaic River watershed.

For the last few years, the Army Corps of Engineers has been buying up and removing floodplain houses as part of the Passaic River Basin Flood Management program. That program will get a big shot in the arm if Rep. Pascrell’s bill can make it through the U.S. Senate. “I am thrilled by the support of my congressional colleagues who voted in favor of funding the full $5 million earmark to provide an additional option these troubled homeowners,” said Rep. Pascrell, a longtime friend of the Passaic, who sits on the House Ways and Means Committee. “I’m especially looking forward to the restoration of the overdeveloped floodplain that will make the river safer for everyone.” Here’s hoping.

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Head of the Passaic

October 4th, 2009 admin No comments

Rutherford’s Nereid Boat Club held its ninth annual Head of the Passaic regatta last weekend (October 3 and 4). More than 140 crews – and some 400 rowers – from the New York Metropolitan area turned out on a beautiful autumn day. The regatta is a wonderful celebration of shell racing that recalls the nineteenth century heyday of Passaic River rowing. Back then, most riverside communities boasted their own rowing teams, and enthusiastic locals would crowd the riverbank on weekend afternoons to picnic and cheer on their hometown favorites. The four-man team from the Passaic River Restoration Program, rowing in honor of their late manager, Bob DeVita, took the first place trophy in the Men’s Masters Novice Four category. You can get complete 2009 Head of the Passaic results and lots of photos from the weekend’s festivities at the Nereid web site. Read the Nereid excerpt from This American River. And check back for Head of the Passaic regatta pictures from This American River’s own photographer John Bruno.


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