Teaneck Creek

Teaneck Creek is a tributary of the Hackensack River, and is situated in a watershed whose land use is 95% urban, with a population density of 6,000 people per sq. mile. In 2003 Teaneck Creek was listed as a NY/NJ HEP Priority Restoration Site. This 46-acre urban wetland is located within the Bergen County Overpeck Park system, 10 miles from midtown Manhattan. A major project goal is to correlate system hydrology with denitrification potential, and to develop an Urban Hydrologic Model that can be applied in other urban wetland systems.

The total restoration cost, which is estimated to be over $2.0 million, will be raised through joint Private-Public partnerships. Funding provided by the NJ Wetlands Mitigation Council is supporting baseline monitoring of the system hydrology with respect to nitrogen transport and sediment denitrification activity, both before and after the restoration. Funding from the NJ Water Resource Research Institute is supporting studies of atmospheric wet and dry nitrogen deposition in both organic and inorganic forms. Nox deposition is also being measured. This restoration will be an iterative process that tests various restoration plans with respect to increasing system denitrification activity post restoration.