Berrys Creek facts for kids
Berry's Creek is a small river that flows into the Hackensack River in New Jersey. It's located in an area called the New Jersey Meadowlands in Bergen County. The creek and the land around it, called its watershed, are home to many different wetlands, marshes, and wild animals.
However, Berry's Creek flows through a busy area with lots of factories. Because of this, it has been heavily polluted by industries for a long time. Companies released harmful chemicals into the creek, and these chemicals are still in the mud at the bottom. Berry's Creek has some of the highest levels of a toxic chemical called methyl mercury found in freshwater mud anywhere in the world. Parts of the creek's watershed are now special cleanup sites called Superfund sites, and efforts to clean them up started many years ago.
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History of Berry's Creek
The creek is named after Major John Berry, an early British settler. European settlers began arriving in New Jersey in the 1600s. As more people moved in during the 1800s, they started changing the land.
People cleared forests, built roads and railroads, and filled in wetlands. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, many factories and chemical plants were built in the area. By 1900, the higher land around Berry's Creek was already very developed. In the 1930s, dirty water from city sewers also started flowing into the creek. Luckily, all sewage pipes leading to the creek were removed by the 1990s.
After World War II, even more towns and roads were built. Big highways like the New Jersey Turnpike were constructed in 1952. The Meadowlands Sports Complex, a large sports arena, was built in the 1970s. In the 1960s, special gates were put in the creek to control flooding. These gates changed how the water flowed, which affected the plants and animals living there. Over time, about 63% of the wetlands in the creek's watershed were filled in.
Where Berry's Creek Flows
Berry's Creek is mostly a tidal river, just like the Hackensack River. This means its water levels go up and down with the ocean tides. The creek starts from ditches in Teterboro, near Teterboro Airport.
The main part of the creek flows for about 4.5 miles (7.2 km). It winds through towns like Moonachie and Carlstadt. In East Rutherford, the creek forms the edge of Walden Marsh, which is next to the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Other parts of the creek are also in Wood-Ridge.
After flowing under Route 3, the creek splits into two parts. One part is the main creek, and the other is the Berry's Creek Canal. The canal was built in 1911 and runs straight through East Rutherford to the Hackensack River. The main creek then goes into Rutherford. It then forms the border between Rutherford and Lyndhurst before joining the Hackensack River.
Berry's Creek Watershed
The Berry's Creek watershed covers about 12 square miles (31 square km). This area includes about 1.6 square miles (4.1 square km) of tidal waterways and marshes. The other 10.4 square miles (27 square km) are highly developed. This means there are many businesses, light industrial sites, parts of the sports complex, and old landfills. Many roads and highways also run through the watershed.
Walden Marsh was created in the 1980s next to the sports complex. It was built to help the environment after flood control measures were put in place. By the year 2000, there were 30 similar structures along the Hackensack River.
Pollution and Cleanup Efforts
Berry's Creek has been heavily polluted by industries for a long time. This pollution happened during the 1800s and 1900s.
The Ventron/Velsicol Site
A company called F.W. Berk and Company used to process chemicals in Wood-Ridge and Carlstadt. Between 1929 and 1960, they released dirty waste, including mercury, directly into the creek. In 1960, another company, Wood Ridge Chemical Corporation, bought the property and continued to release waste.
Later, in 1968, Ventron bought the plant. They also continued operations but started looking into the environmental effects of their waste. In 1970, the new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that the plant was releasing two to four pounds of mercury into Berry's Creek every day. The plant stopped operating in 1974.
The mud at the bottom of Berry's Creek has some of the highest levels of methyl mercury in the world. This is because about 268 tons of mercury-contaminated waste were released into the creek between 1943 and 1974. Even though the old plant was torn down, the pollution remained in the creek.
Superfund Cleanup Sites
In 1980, the U.S. Superfund law was created to help clean up dangerous waste sites. In 1983 and 1984, the EPA named the Ventron/Velsicol site and two other nearby sites as Superfund sites. These other sites were the Scientific Chemical site in Carlstadt and the Universal Oil Products site in East Rutherford.
The EPA and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) started studying and cleaning up these sites in the 1980s. In 1990, some polluted soil was removed and replaced. The cleanup is expected to continue for many more years. Besides mercury, these sites also have high levels of other harmful chemicals called PCBs. As of 2018, only the Scientific Chemical site is considered "under control."
In October 2018, the EPA announced a plan to remove or cover the toxic waste in the creek. This plan is expected to take about 5.5 years.
Wildlife in Berry's Creek
In the early 1900s, the main plants in the watershed were freshwater species like cattails and Atlantic white cedar trees. But after the Oradell Dam was built in 1921, the water in Berry's Creek became saltier. Since then, the marsh plants have mostly been a type of tall grass called Phragmites.
Berry's Creek is very important for birds. It is the last place in the Meadowlands where the northern harrier bird nests. Many raptors also use the area in winter. More than 265 types of birds use the Meadowlands. It's a major stop for migratory birds and an important place for waterfowl to spend the winter. Many different shorebirds, wading birds, and gulls can be found here.
Some important fish species in the Meadowlands include mummichogs, white perch, Atlantic silversides, gizzard shad, striped killifish, and striped bass. In 1991, tests showed high levels of the metal chromium in blue crabs living in the creek. Because of this, the NJDEP has warned people not to catch or eat blue crabs from Berry's Creek, the Hackensack River, or Newark Bay.
