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"TAKE THE HIGH ROAD TO VAN BUSKIRK ISLAND - Guest Editorial published in THE RECORD on Thursday, March 21, 2002, by Maggie Harrer, President of the Board, WWC, Inc."

TAKE THE HIGH ROAD TO VAN BUSKIRK ISLAND
By Maggie Harrer,
President of the Board of the Water Works Conservancy, Inc.

On February 21, 2002, the New Jersey Historic Sites Council rejected-by a 9?0 vote-Bergen County?s request to demolish the historic Hackensack Water Company (HWC) site on Van Buskirk Island. The Council said the County needed to preserve this nationally important historic site. Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bradley Campbell plans to issue the final decision this month.

The Council concluded that the County has not fully recognized the historical significance of this site.

Bergen County also insisted that flooding at the site would prevent preservation. The Council challenged that concern. Most of the historic sites in the nation and in New Jersey lie in similar flood plains including Harper?s Ferry, New Bridge Landing and the Trenton War Memorial. Expert witnesses, engineers and architects testified that flooding is a manageable issue.

The hearing made it clear that this is not a choice between park or preservation. Historic preservation with environmental restoration is a win-win for Bergen County. The WWC?s and the County's proposals contain exactly the same amount of open space and parkland. The key difference is whether the historic site will hold:

· A beautifully preserved 19th-century water treatment plant with a museum and 100 years of technology, an innovative education center, and Hackensack River Research Center; or

· The County?s proposed artificially created "Roman ruin" standing in a formal garden, with office space, an amphitheater, and a landfill "knoll" behind it.

As a member of the Council remarked, "Bergen County should celebrate this wonderful historic resource. It is National Landmark eligible, and National Landmarks are few and far between. Bergen County is very lucky to have one."

The County deems it "cheaper" to spend $9.1 million ($5.1 million in to demolish the historic site and $4 million to create a park) than to work with a national coalition of organizations to save and restore the historic site?at no cost to taxpayers.

The County's proposal raises serious environmental issues: the proposed "embayment" further damages the already flow-compromised Hackensack River by diverting even more flow from the River; the bay becomes a collection pool for debris that float upriver with each tide; and the landfill "knoll" adds to the flooding problems.

Now is the time for Bergen County to walk a new path.

By choosing preservation, Bergen County will join thousands of citizens and experts in this unique endeavor. The Water Works Conservancy (WWC) offers its full support and advocates a feasible, innovative environmental and historic restoration of the site. WWC is joined by a large majority of citizens who value the environmentally sound preservation of our heritage. The State and National Coalition to Save the Water Works? comprised of a host of state, national, and international organizations?has offered expertise and resources, both financial and professional.

The goal: transform the historically significant site into a multipurpose facility within a 10-acre restored habitat park. The HWC site, which operated uninterrupted until 1990, is nationally significant because it is a rare, surviving example of a 19th Century water works and includes the oldest existing example of the American system of mechanical filtration that enabled the processing and delivery of clean, safe water.

The HWC exemplifies the early 20th-century development of a pure municipal water supply, crucial to a nation whose citizens drank water with foul taste, foul odor, and bacteria from untreated sewage dumped into rivers. In 1901, diarrhea, dysentery and typhoid were rampant. Most of this remarkable complex, buildings and equipment, pre-dates World War I, and survives with remarkable integrity. The site is the only intact facility of its kind in the nation.

WWC calls on Bergen County to choose the high road without further delay. Work with WWC and environmentalists, save our historic waterworks and save taxpayers over $5 million.

Our children and future generations should be able to walk along natural paths, discover the Hackensack River, stand in awe in the Pump House watching the rotating wheels of a four-story steam engine, and discover the excitement of hands-on science in the restored labs and Environmental Education Center. That's priceless.

If you agree, please e-mail or write Commissioner Bradley Campbell, NJ DEP, Division of Parks & Forestry, Historic Preservation Office, PO Box 404, Trenton, NJ 08625- 9494, email .