Wanaque Reservoir
View of the southern portion of Wanaque Reservoir from Wanaque Ridge in Ramapo Mountain State Forest
Wanaque Reservoir Show map of New Jersey Wanaque Reservoir Show map of the United States
Location	Ringwood / Wanaque, Passaic County, New Jersey
Coordinates	41°04′11″N 74°17′27″W / 41.069646°N 74.290953°W / 41.069646; -74.290953
Type	Reservoir
Primary inflows	Wanaque River, Ramapo River (via Pompton Lakes intake), Pompton River (via Two Bridges intake)
Primary outflows	Wanaque River
Basin countries	United States
Max. length	6.6 miles (10.6 km)
Max. width	1.2 miles (1.9 km)
Surface area	2,310 acres (9.3 km2)
Average depth	37 feet (11 m)
Max. depth	90 feet (27 m)
Water volume	29,630,000,000 US gallons (1.122×1011 L)
Surface elevation	302.4 feet (92.2 m)

Wanaque Reservoir is a man-made lake located within Wanaque and Ringwood, New Jersey along the Wanaque River. The reservoir came into being in 1928 by the construction of the Raymond Dam along the river in Wanaque. Besides the Wanaque River, the reservoir receives water from two diversions: the Pompton Lakes intake, which takes water from the Ramapo River, and the Two Bridges intake, which takes water from the Pompton River.^[1] It is the second largest reservoir in New Jersey by volume, after Round Valley Reservoir. It is the second largest body of water in New Jersey by area, after Lake Hopatcong.^[2]

Construction

Construction of the Wanaque Reservoir represented a significant achievement in enabling the supply of potable water to local areas that didn't have safe drinking water sources. The project took quite an extensive time. After eight years of construction, water was delivered to customers for the first time in 1930. Upon completion, the Wanaque Reservoir supplied water to several member municipalities including Bloomfield, Clifton, Glen Ridge, Kearny, Montclair, Newark, Passaic, and Paterson. A major feature that came with the construction of Wanaque Reservoir was the West Brook Road Bridge. The bridge was constructed to carry the re-located West Brook Road across the Wanaque Reservoir. Construction of the West Brook Road Bridge began in 1926 and it was opened to traffic in 1928. The bridge was to be rebuilt for safety reasons and the new bridge was completed in early 2018.^[3]