Monksville Reservoir

Last updated
Monksville Reservoir
2024-10-22 13 24 43 Autumn view from the Monksville Dam northwestward along the northeast shore of Monksville Reservoir in Ringwood, Passaic County, New Jersey.jpg
USA New Jersey relief location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Monksville Reservoir
Usa edcp relief location map.png
Red pog.svg
Monksville Reservoir
Location Ringwood / Ringwood & West Milford, NJ,
Passaic County, New Jersey
Coordinates 41°07′20″N74°17′59″W / 41.122217°N 74.299829°W / 41.122217; -74.299829
Type Reservoir
Basin  countriesUnited States
Max. length3 mi (4.8 km)
Surface area505 acres (2.04 km2)
Max. depth90 ft (27 m)
Water volume7 billion US gallons (26,000,000 m3)
Surface elevation400 ft (120 m)
Monksville Reservoir, New Jersey, seen from the south. Photo: Erlend Bjortvedt NJ Monksville Reservoir IMG 1918.JPG
Monksville Reservoir, New Jersey, seen from the south. Photo: Erlend Bjørtvedt

The Monksville Reservoir is an artificial lake created in 1987 by damming on the Wanaque River in Ringwood, New Jersey. It is named after the former community of Monksville, which was relocated and flooded upon its completion.

Contents

History

The reservoir was built to relieve chronic water shortages in northern New Jersey that occurred in the 1980s due to drought conditions. [1] The reservoir extended the capacity of the nearby 29-billion-US-gallon (110,000,000 m3) Wanaque Reservoir. [1] It is owned jointly by the Hackensack Water Company and the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission. [1]

Location

The lake is in Long Pond Ironworks State Park, which is located in the community of Hewitt, in West Milford, New Jersey, United States. The park is known for its old stone walls, furnaces and other remnants of a once industrious ironworking community that now sits next to the swiftly flowing Wanaque River. The park is operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry. [1] The state of New Jersey previously spent $2.7 million purchasing land at the site to be part of the state park before drought changed the priority to the reservoir. [1]

Approximately 15 residences, mostly owned by the Rhinesmith and Vreeland families, were purchased with NJ Green Acres funding and their owners relocated. Two homes of historic significance were moved, the others were demolished. One business, Duramic, was relocated and its building demolished.[ citation needed ]

Construction

Construction of the reservoir was started in 1985. Land was cleared and gravel was crushed on site and stock-piled.

Stonetown Road was realigned to run over the dam. A small bailey bridge that was put in place in 1977 was dismantled to be used again elsewhere. The Monksville dam is approximately 0.4 miles (0.64 km) long. A portion of Greenwood Lake Turnpike was realigned to higher ground.

The dam impounds water from the Wanaque River flowing down from Greenwood Lake. A spillway was constructed to allow water to flow into the Wanaque Reservoir below. During times of low flow, water from the Monksville Reservoir is released into the Wanaque Reservoir below via the intake tower which mixes water from various levels of the Monksville.

The dam was constructed with rollcrete. Dirt and gravel from on-site were mixed with cement. A dry mix of this material was laid down by large spreader trucks. A water truck would sprinkle the mix every 30 minutes around the clock to cure the mix. The face of the dam on the water side was faced with concrete, the other side was earthen. In 2007 the earthen side was refaced with concrete.

Building of the actual dam started in March 1987 and was completed in August 1987. Then-governor Thomas Kean was present for the ribbon-cutting ceremony in autumn 1987.

The reservoir filled quickly and was full by October 1987. [1]

Activities

The lake is used by anglers, sporting clubs, the Society for the Education of American Sailors (SEAS), and is the home of Highlands Rowing Center, North Jersey Rowing, and Advanced Community Rowing Association. The reservoir is the home practice facility of the Suffern High School Varsity & Novice Crew teams. The Monksville Reservoir is known for its trophy size muskellunge, walleye, bass and trout.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Ruataniwha</span> Lake in the South Island of New Zealand

Lake Ruataniwha is an artificial lake in the Mackenzie Basin in the South Island of New Zealand. It was formed in 1977–1981 as part of the Waitaki hydroelectric project. It lies on the traditional boundary of the Canterbury and Otago provinces, with the town of Twizel two kilometres to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diamond Valley Lake</span> Reservoir in Riverside County, California, United States

Diamond Valley Lake is a man-made off-stream reservoir located near Hemet, California, United States. It is one of the largest reservoirs in Southern California and one of the newest. It has a capacity of 800,000 acre-feet (990,000,000 m3). The lake nearly doubled the area's surface water storage capacity and provides additional water supplies for drought, peak summer, and emergency needs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramapo Mountain State Forest</span> Forest in New Jersey, United States

Ramapo Mountain State Forest is a 4,200-acre (17 km2) state forest in Bergen and Passaic Counties in New Jersey. The park is operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wanaque River</span>

The Wanaque River is a tributary of the Pequannock River in Passaic County in northern New Jersey in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monksville, New Jersey</span>

Monksville or Monks was a small settlement located in West Milford that was demolished and flooded to create the Monksville Reservoir in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. The village was the home of James Monks, grand-uncle of Charles A. Monks of Passaic County, New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenwood Lake</span> Reservoir, natural lake in New York / Passaic County, New Jersey

Greenwood Lake is an interstate lake approximately seven miles (11 km) long, straddling the border of New York and New Jersey. It is located in the Town of Warwick and the Village of Greenwood Lake, New York and West Milford, New Jersey. It is the source of the Wanaque River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eucumbene Dam</span> Dam in Snowy Mountains, New South Wales

Eucumbene Dam is a major gated earthfill embankment dam with an overflow ski-jump and bucket spillway with two vertical lift gates across the Eucumbene River in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. The dam's main purpose is for the generation of hydro-power and is one of the sixteen major dams that comprise the Snowy Mountains Scheme, a vast hydroelectricity and irrigation complex constructed in south-east Australia between 1949 and 1974 and now run by Snowy Hydro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long Pond Ironworks State Park</span> United States historic place

Long Pond Ironworks State Park is located in the community of Hewitt, in West Milford, New Jersey, United States. The park is known for its old stone walls, furnaces and other remnants of a once industrious ironworking community that now sits next to the swiftly flowing Wanaque River. The park is operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry and has an area of 145 acres (0.59 km2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kensico Reservoir</span> Reservoir in New York, United States

The Kensico Reservoir is a reservoir spanning the towns of Armonk and Valhalla, New York, located 3 miles (5 km) north of White Plains. It was formed by the original earth and gravel Kensico Dam constructed in 1885, which impounded waters from the Bronx and Byram rivers. In 1917, a new masonry dam was completed, replacing the old dam and expanding the water supply by bringing water from the Catskill Mountains over a distance of more than 100 miles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">County Route 511 (New Jersey)</span> County highway in New Jersey, U.S.

County Route 511 is a county highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The highway extends 37.44 miles (60.25 km) from Columbia Avenue in Morris Township to the New York state line in West Milford where the road continues as New York State Route 210.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quinapoxet River</span> River

The Quinapoxet River is part of the Nashua River watershed in northern Massachusetts in the United States. It is part of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority water system supplying drinking water to the greater Boston area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas Dam</span> Dam in Tennessee, United States

Douglas Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the French Broad River in Sevier County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The dam is operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which built the dam in record time in the early 1940s to meet emergency energy demands at the height of World War II. Douglas Dam is a straight reinforced concrete gravity-type dam 1705 feet long and 202 feet high, impounding the 28,420-acre (11,500 ha) Douglas Lake. The dam was named for Douglas Bluff, a cliff overlooking the dam site prior to construction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spruce Run Recreation Area</span>

Spruce Run Recreation Area is a 1,290-acre (5.2 km2) New Jersey state recreation area located in Union Township and Clinton Township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. It encompasses the Spruce Run Reservoir that is used as a backup reservoir to protect the state from prolonged droughts. The reservoir is the third largest in the state, after Round Valley and Wanaque Reservoir. The reservoir is used for recreation purposes, including hunting, fishing, boating and swimming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Livingston</span> Reservoir in eastern Texas, United States

Lake Livingston is a reservoir located in Piney Woods in Houston, Madison, Polk, San Jacinto, Trinity and Walker counties in east Texas, United States. Lake Livingston was built and is owned and operated by the Trinity River Authority (TRA) of Texas under contract with the City of Houston for water-supply purposes. The USCG Auxiliary Flotilla 6-9 is also stationed on the lake. The lake is the third-largest lake located in the state of Texas. The Livingston Dam, constructed across the Trinity River about 7 miles (11 km) southwest of the city of Livingston is 2.5 miles (4 km) in length and has an average depth of 55 feet (17 m).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ujjani Dam</span> Dam in Madha Taluka, Solapur district

Ujjani Dam, also known as Bhima Dam or Bhima Irrigation Project, on the Bhima River, a tributary of the Krishna River, is an earthfill cum Masonry gravity dam located near Ujjani village of Madha Taluk in Solapur district of the state of Maharashtra in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake McConaughy</span> Reservoir in Nebraska, United States

Lake McConaughy is a reservoir on the North Platte River. It is located 9 miles (14 km) north of Ogallala, Nebraska, United States, near U.S. Highway 26 and Nebraska Highway 61. The reservoir was named for Charles W. McConaughy, a grain merchant and mayor of Holdrege, Nebraska, one of the leading promoters of the project. Although he did not live to see the completion of the project, his leadership and perseverance eventually culminated in a public power and irrigation project that helped Nebraska become one of the nation's leading agricultural states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wanaque Reservoir</span> New Jersey reservoir

Wanaque Reservoir is a man-made lake located within Wanaque and Ringwood, New Jersey along the Wanaque River. The reservoir came into being in 1928 by the construction of the Raymond Dam along the river in Wanaque. Besides the Wanaque River, the reservoir receives water from two diversions: the Pompton Lakes intake, which takes water from the Ramapo River, and the Two Bridges intake, which takes water from the Pompton River. It is the second largest reservoir in New Jersey by volume, after Round Valley Reservoir. It is the second largest body of water in New Jersey by area, after Lake Hopatcong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reedsburg Dam</span> Dam in Michigan, United States

The Reedsburg Dam is a non-hydroelectric barrage dam crossing the Muskegon River in eastern Missaukee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located in rural Enterprise Township, the dam was constructed in 1940 by the Civilian Conservation Corps to alleviate flooding from Houghton Lake, which is the source of the Muskegon River approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) upstream.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hanley, Robert (June 21, 1986). "PUSH IS ON TO FINISH JERSEY RESERVOIR". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 May 2017.