Raritan River

Raritan River
The Raritan River is a major river of New Jersey. Its watershed drains much of the mountainous area of the central part of the state, emptying into the Raritan Bay on the Atlantic Ocean.
History
Geologists assert that the lower Raritan provided the course of the mouth of the Hudson River approximately 6,000 years ago. Following the end of the last ice age, the Narrows had not yet been formed and the Hudson flowed along the Watchung Mountains to present-day Bound Brook, then followed the course of the Raritan eastward into Lower New York Bay.
The name Raritan possibly derives from a branch of the Lenape people called the Nariticongs, the first people known to settle the Raritan Valley.
Following conflict with the arriving Dutch colonists, the native people of the region were forced to sell their territory near the Raritan Bay and move further inland along the river valley. As English colonists took over the region, they took advantage of the river's location between New York and Philadelphia as well as a road network developed by the Lenape to turn the region into a transportation and commercial hub. As a result, the Raritan River became an important waterway for colonial travel and trade, allowing for the development of trade centers like Raritan Landing and New Brunswick where agricultural and raw material goods could be sold.
During the American Revolutionary War, the river was the site of guerilla warfare by American militiamen against British patrols, culminating in the Battle of Bound Brook where a large British force attacked an American outpost south of the river.
The success of the Erie Canal sparked a "canal fever" in the United States, catalyzing the construction of the Delaware and Raritan Canal between New Brunswick on the Raritan and Bordentown on the Delaware. This provided a critical link between Philadelphia (and the rest of the greater Mid-Atlantic region, at large) and New York (and the rest of the greater New England region, at large), as these cities were situated along the crucial rivers of the Delaware and Hudson, respectively. The vast majority of traffic along the canal was Pennsylvania anthracite coal with the rest consisting mostly of agricultural and textile goods, at its peak in 1866 it actually transported more cargo than the Erie Canal. In 1932 the canal shut down for commercial use, though in 1974 it was turned into a state park for recreational use and remains used as a water supply for Central New Jersey. Various mill towns were formed along the canal and the aforementioned river (and tributaries), most notably (from south to north / west to east) being Trenton, Kingston, Blackwells Mills, Griggstown, Hillsborough, Manville, Chester, Bernards, Clinton, Raritan, Milltown, and Woodbridge.
Description
The river forms at the confluence of the North and South Branches just west of Somerville at the border of Bridgewater, Branchburg, and Hillsborough Townships. It flows for approximately before slowing in tidewater at New Brunswick, and its estuary extends more entering the western end of Raritan Bay at South Amboy.
Comprehensive measures have been taken to reduce the pollution and increase the water quality. These actions have benefited the fish population which include (but are not limited to) largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, sunfish, catfish, trout, chain pickerel, american eels, carp and yellow perch. Pike can be found in relative abundance in some portions of the river like Clinton and Califon. An occasional Musky has been taken out of the Raritan as well. The tidal portions of the river host migratory salt water species such as striped bass, fluke, winter flounder, weakfish and bluefish. Recently, efforts to restore anadromous fish populations have been made, done by removing many of the obsolete dams and the constructing dam bypass infrastructure. Hopefully this will result in restoring shad, striped bass, and sturgeon populations in the river. Many songbirds, wading birds, and waterfowl make their homes in and along the length of the river, such as mallards, canadian geese, great blue herons, double-crested cormorants, and common mergansers. Common songbirds include the american robin, song sparrow, northern mockingbird, common grackle, and the Red-winged blackbird. Crustaceans such as blue claw crab, fiddler crabs and green crabs are also found in the tidal sections of the river. Crayfish can be found farther upstream.
The river is also used for recreational boating, including use by the rowing team of Rutgers University in New Brunswick. The river is featured in the title of Rutgers' alma mater, On the Banks of the Old Raritan, and its flooding is mentioned in the song.
Near its mouth, the river is spanned by the Raritan Bay Drawbridge, a New Jersey Transit railroad bridge which carries the North Jersey Coast Line; the Victory Bridge which carries Route 35 (connecting Perth Amboy and Sayreville, New Jersey); the Edison Bridge, which carries U.S. Route 9 (connecting Woodbridge Township and Sayreville); and the Driscoll Bridge, which carries the Garden State Parkway (connecting Woodbridge Township and Sayreville).
Water supply
The Raritan River is an important source of drinking water for the central portion of New Jersey. A water processing plant operated by New Jersey American Water is located in Somerset and draws its water at the confluence of the Raritan River and its largest tributary (the Millstone River), providing an average of of water per day.
The New Jersey Water Supply Authority operates two reservoirs off of the Raritan river, the Spruce Run Reservoir and Round Valley Reservoir, and controls releases of water to ensure the “minimum passing flow rates” enforced by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Additionally, the Delaware and Raritan Canal, managed by the New Jersey Water Supply Authority, serves as a water supply that pumps over of water per day from the Delaware to the Raritan river and serves over 1 million customers along the way
Flooding
The Raritan River has persistent flooding problems when excessive rain from storms affects the river basin. The flooding problems mainly affect the town of Bound Brook, which is partially built on a natural floodplain at the junction of several tributaries, and Manville, which has a large neighborhood known as Lost Valley that lies on the floodplain between the Raritan River and its largest tributary river, which is known as the Millstone River. Other towns in the Raritan River basin also experience flooding to a lesser degree.
Record flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Floyd in September 1999 flood crest, above flood stage) caused renewed interest in a flood control project called the Green Brook Flood Control Project, which is designed to protect Bound Brook from a 150-year flood. In August 2011, record flooding occurred once again after Hurricane Irene swept through the area. This problem was exacerbated by well-above average rainfall that fell in the weeks before the storm hit, and spurred completion of the Army Corps of Engineers flood control project. As of 2015, the current status of this project is:
The R2 levee system is functionally complete – The R2 Levee System is designed to provide Bound Brook with protection from a 150-year flood level. The levee is built to the height of the raised Talmage Avenue Bridge.
Closure gates along Raritan are functionally complete – The gate closures across the New Jersey Transit railroad tracks on the western side of Bound Brook and at the South Main Street railroad underpass that leads to Queens Bridge have been completed and are used to keep flood waters out of Bound Brook.
The new Talmadge Avenue Bridge that connects Bound Brook and Bridgewater, New Jersey is functionally complete. The replacement bridge was built to the height of the R2 Levee to prevent Middle Brook and Raritan River waters from entering Bound Brook from the west.
To improve water flow through Bound Brook, the former Conrail bridge over the Raritan River and its associated railroad embankment that were located east of Bound Brook were removed during 2007. The bridge and embankment, when they were in place, acted to block the river flow through the Bound Brook area. To build the main Bound Brook R2 levee, the bridge and embankment needed to be removed.
Gallery
Communities on the Raritan
(In alphabetical order with 2020 population)
Bound Brook (11,988)
Bridgewater (45,977)
East Brunswick (49,715)
Edison (107,588)
Franklin Township (68,364)
Highland Park (15,072)
Hillsborough (43,276)
Manville (10,953)
Middlesex (14,636)
New Brunswick (55,266)
Perth Amboy (55,436)
Piscataway (60,804)
Raritan (7,835)
Sayreville (45,345)
Somerville (12,346)
South Amboy (9,411)
South Bound Brook (4,863)
Woodbridge (103,639)
Tributaries
The Raritan river is formed by the confluence of:
North Branch Raritan River
South Branch Raritan River
Its main tributaries are:
Green Brook
Lawrence Brook
Millstone River
South River
Others are:
Arrarat Creek
Crows Mill Creek
Cuckels Brook
Dukes Brook
Garron Creek
Manalapan Brook
Middle Brook
Mile Run
Buell Brook
Mill Brook
Padilla Creek
Peters Brook
Pine Creek
Randolph Brook
Red Root Creek
Lakes
Lakes that are located within the Raritan Basin include:
Budd Lake
Dismal Swamp
Duhernal Lake
Lake Manalapan
Lake Carnegie
Lake Surprise
Lake Topanemus
Manasquan Reservoir
Round Valley Reservoir
Spruce Run Reservoir
Westons Mill Pond
See also
List of New Jersey rivers
List of crossings of the Raritan River
Raritan Bay
Raritan Bayshore
Sandy Hook Bay
Delaware and Raritan Canal
Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park
Manasquan River
Navesink River
Passaic River
Rahway River
Shrewsbury River
Arthur Kill
Raritan River Project
Hudson Canyon
References
External links
Delaware & Raritan Canal State Park
Duke Island Park
Raritan Basin Watershed Alliance
U.S. Geological Survey: NJ stream gaging stations
Smallmouth bass article from the New Jersey Division of Fish Game and Wildlife
The Raritan-Millstone Heritage Alliance
Green Brook Flood Commission
Rutgers Gardens
Scenic Lawrence Brook(pictures)
Rutgers Cooperative Extension: Video Series on the Restoration of Manalapan Brook
Raritan Bay Waterfront Park
Visit New Jersey Bayshore
Rivers of Middlesex County, New Jersey
Rivers of Somerset County, New Jersey
Rivers of New Jersey
Bodies of water in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey