| Woodcliff Lake Reservoir | |
|---|---|
| Location | Bergen County, New Jersey, USA |
| Lake type | reservoir |
| Primary inflows | Pascack Brook, Bear Brook |
| Primary outflows | Pascack Brook |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Water volume | 871,000,000 US gal (3,300,000 m3) |
| Surface elevation | 98 ft (30 m)[1] |
| References | [1] |
Woodcliff Lake is the name of a reservoir in Woodcliff Lake and portions of Hillsdale and Park Ridge, in Bergen County, New Jersey. It was created circa 1903 by damming the Pascack Brook 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 United Water, a private utility.
The reservoir has a capacity of approximately 871 million US gallons (3,300,000 m3) of water.[2] 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[3] and a Watershed Permit[4] obtained by payment of a yearly fee to the owner of the reservoir, United Water. Numerous waterfowl including various species of ducks and heron also live on and around the reservoir.[5]
The reservoir may be crossed at two points, either by a narrow road over the dam, Church Road, 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.[6]