Point View Dam facts for kids

The Point View Dam is an important structure located in Wayne, within Passaic County, New Jersey. It plays a big role in providing clean drinking water to many homes in the area.

Point View Dam: Supplying Your Water

The Point View Dam is a large wall built across a stream to hold back water. It's a key part of the water system for people living nearby.

What is the Point View Dam?

The Point View Dam is an earthen gravity dam. This means it's made mostly of earth and rock, and its own weight holds back the water. It was built in 1964. The main reason it was constructed was to create a reservoir. This reservoir collects water from Haycock Brook. The water collected is then treated and used as drinking water for towns in the area.

The dam is quite large! It stands about 55 feet (16.7 meters) high. It stretches for 1100 feet (about 335 meters) across the land at its top.

Who Manages the Dam?

Both the Point View Dam and the reservoir it creates are managed by the Passaic Valley Water Commission. This group is in charge of making sure people have clean water. The Point View Reservoir is actually the largest of the four reservoirs that the Commission operates. In 2009, there were plans to upgrade the dam. This big project was funded by the state. It helped make sure the dam stays strong and safe for many years to come.

The Point View Reservoir

The water body created by the dam is called the Point View Reservoir. This reservoir is quite large, covering an area of 465 acres. To give you an idea, that's like more than 350 football fields! It can hold a huge amount of water. Its maximum capacity is 10,450 acre-feet of water. An acre-foot is the amount of water needed to cover one acre of land to a depth of one foot. Normally, it holds about 8,590 acre-feet of water.

If you enjoy fishing, you might be interested in the reservoir. However, to fish there, you need to get a special permit. You can get this permit from the Passaic Valley Water Commission.