A garage in North Arlington that is owned by the Bayonne Municipal Utilities Authority will be used by the Hackensack Riverkeeper Program to store and possibly repair boats.
The agreement was forged last month and approved by the BMUA.
BMUA Executive Director Steve Gallo said the property is part of Bayonne water management system, but can not be developed because of numerous pipes located there.
Riverkeeper is a national non-profit environmental organization. A local man, Bill Sheehan, has been appointed to be the Hackensack Riverkeeper and watches over the river.
Riverkeeper will not have to pay to use the garage.
The BMUA owns the tract of land on Porette Avenue in North Arlington, which contains some operations of the BMUA aqueduct, as well as a two-story house and a large block garage. The house and garage were built in the 1920s, but the house will probably be demolished.
“The BMUA owns the property as part of our water management,” said Gallo. “We originally offered Bill Sheehan the use of the house there. But it was in such bad shape that Bill declined. But when we offered him the garage, he told us he had a use for it because it is so closely situated to the Hackensack River.”
The Hackensack branch of the Riverkeeper program has been involved in numerous activities with the BMUA and Bayonne Schools over the years, including the Urban Angler Program. Captain Bill Sheehan, who is the Hackensack Riverkeeper, established the program in 1997, evolving out of several other environmental rescue efforts. Since then, the Riverkeeper has become one of the central forces in the preservation of the Meadowlands area and has looked out for the interests of the Hackensack River estuary, which includes the Newark Bay area along the boundary of Bayonne.
The Riverkeeper has even pressed the BMUA to conform to state laws in regard to its sewerage discharges. Gallo noted that the relationship between the City of Bayonne and the Riverkeeper has grown stronger over the years as both parties focused on cleaning up the waterways.
We are proud to have developed a working relationship with [Sheehan],” Gallo said.”He helps us by his vigilance and his patient willingness to educate us.”
At its June meeting, the BMUA agreed to allow the Riverkeeper to use the garage and property for storage and other purposes.
Dot Harrington, BMUA Chair, said the garage is vacant and could be put to good use by the Riverkeeper.
“They can store their equipment, canoes and Kayaks over the winter,” Harrington said. “There’s enough space to perform maintenance work on their vessels.”
The Riverkeeper has two pontoon boats, one of which was purchased partly from funds donated to the program by the BMUA, as well as a fleet of canoes it rents from a facility at Laurel Hill County Park in Secaucus. From early spring to late fall, the pontoon boats offer eco-tours of the Hackensack River from several marinas along the river. But the pontoon boats and canoes must be stored somewhere in winter, and the site in North Arlington may provide that opportunity.
Gallo said the property is burdened with a lot of large pipes and underground facilities that prohibit other uses such as construction of buildings. With this agreement, the BMUA hopes to further support the Riverkeeper’s efforts on behalf of the community and environment.
In a very real sense, the work that the Riverkeeper does directly affect us,” Gallo said. “We are downstream from the Hackensack River, and our community is directly affected by what goes on there.”
Bayonne Water System Consumer Confidence Report Issued
Last week, Gallo also announced the release of the BMUA’s 2003 Consumer Confidence Report (CCR). This has been mailed to all customers and is also available for download at the City of Bayonne Website – Http://www.bayonnenj.org/pdf.htm
The online version of the report is presented in Adobe Acrobat Format.
Each year, the Authority is required to issue a comprehensive report regarding the source and quality of Bayonne’s drinking water in the previous year. The report shows that there were no violations in 2003.
The 2003 CCR is our annual report to the community about the source and quality of Bayonne’s water,” Harrington said. “We are pleased to report that in 2003 our drinking water met or exceeded all federal and state water quality standards.
The source of Bayonne’s water is the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission located in the New Jersey Highlands Region in Passaic County. Water comes to Bayonne via a system of aqueducts owned by North Jersey and by the MUA. The system is supplied by the 29.6 billion gallon Wanaque Reservoir and the 7 billion gallon Monksville Reservoir. North Jersey also operates two pump stations designed to draw up to 250 million gallons per day from the Pompton River and 150 million gallons per day from the Ramapo River.
To ensure that the water is pristine, North Jersey continually monitors and tests the water in the rivers, lakes and streams that supply the reservoirs. The Commission also monitors water quality throughout its distribution system, and in Bayonne. Each month, 90 to 95 samples are taken in Bayonne and evaluated at North Jersey’s state-of-the-art USEPA and NJDEP certified laboratory.
Additional copies of the report are available in City Hall, at the public libraries, and by calling the Authority and requesting a copy. Persons with questions about Bayonne’s water supply are invited to contact the Authority’s Executive Director, Steve Gallo, at (201) 339-3200.