Time is critical. Every day that passes, the Water Works remains vulnerable to deterioration by weather and harm by vandals. We need to let our decision-makers and those with influence in this matter know that we, the citizens of New Jersey and the nation, want to SAVE OUR HISTORIC WATER WORKS for our children and for future generations. We ordinary citizens have enormous power to influence our representatives by letters and by our votes. Let your representatives and candidates for office know that you want to SAVE THE WATER WORKS by writing to them, calling them and speaking out at public meetings. Finally, after you send your letters, join the Water Works Conservancy by clicking on MEMBERSHIP.

We have a sample letter for you to use and a list of people to whom to send your opinion. Please read on for more information.

One of the immediate dangers to the site is from water damage from neglect of a number of small holes in the roof. This photo shows a truss that supports a wooden beam which is the main support for the roof in the 1886 section of the Pump House. This hole, visible from New Milford Avenue, is on the south side of the building at the bottom of the valley formed by the junction of the east gable and the south bay. Water leaking into the interior of the brick wall is damaging the brick masonry, the truss end is rotting and has already settled. If water continues getting in, especially over the winter, the south end of the truss could collapse and bring down a major section of the roof with it. A simple, inexpensive repair could save this second oldest section of the New Milford plant.

THE CURRENT STATUS OF THE SITE The Historic Hackensack Water Company site is on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places. Under the New Jersey Historic Registration Law, any alteration to a site on the NJ Historic Register must first be approved by the NJ Department Of Environmental Protection Historic Preservation Office. The method for such approval is to apply to the NJ DEP Historic Preservation Office which submits such application to the New Jersey Historic Sites Council, which then votes on the application and forwards that vote in the form of a Resolution to the NJ DEP Commissioner. The NJ DEP Commissioner then makes the final decision on the application guided by the Resolution of the NJ Historic Sites Council. On February 21, 2002, the New Jersey Historical Sites Council voted 9-0 to reject Bergen County's request to demolish the historic Hackensack Water Company site. To read the Council's Final Resolution, please click here. This Historic Sites Council's Resolution is now in the hands of Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bradley Campbell, who will make the final decision. He has granted a one-year extension for a final determination of the County's request, to allow the County to reassess the preservaton of this important National Historic Site. Bergen County and all other stakeholders, including the WWC and the State and National Coalition to Save the Water Works, agreed to that request. The new deadline is June 2003. Commissioner Campbell has indicated that he is inclined to reject Bergen County's proposal unless it saves the historic site along the lines described in the resolution. Join WWC and help create the best solition for the future of the cultural landscape of Van Buskirk Island.

Sample Letter

Names and Addresses