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Open the Bronx River Watershed
Management Plan by clicking on the links below:
Bronx River Watershed Assessment and Management Report
Stormwater Management Practices and Riparian Restoration Conceptual Plans
Wetland Field Assessment and Management Plan
Municipal Ordinance Assessment and Recommendations
Public Education and Outreach Strategy
Bronx River Water Quality and Biological Baseline Data Collection
Bronx River Watershed Coalition Memorandum of Agreement
Westchester County A Guide to Aquatic Buffers
Bronx River Watershed Baseline Assessment
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To explore plans for the river in the Bronx click here |
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information about the Bronx River Watershed Coalition, please contact
: Robert Doscher, Principal Environmental Planner at 914-995-4423 or Lisa Vasilakos, Environmental Planner at 914-995-4407 Westchester County Department of Planning.
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Developing A Watershed Management Strategy
The Bronx River watershed, like all of Westchester, was once covered by forests, meadows, marshes and swamps, through which ran small streams and larger rivers. Ponds dotted the landscape, offering a rich and varied ecosystem. Today, however, the watershed is considerably developed, especially in southern Westchester. Low-, moderate-, and high-density housing, shopping centers, offices, industry, and other similar land uses have replaced much of the visible natural resources that once dominated the landscape. Even recreational uses, like golf courses and athletic fields, have altered the former landscape.
Unlike the forests and wetlands they replaced, parking lots, office buildings, shopping centers, factories, etc. do not absorb the rainfall and melting snow that runs over and through them, purifying the water as it goes. Instead, they shed the water, adding pollutants like oils and grease, metals and salts and nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus. This polluted stormwater runoff then washes into catch basins and other stormwater infrastructure, where it may go untreated directly into the river and its tributaries. This adds to the degradation of water quality, thereby impeding the river’s ability to host fish and wildlife and recreational pursuits, like fishing and swimming.
The Bronx River Watershed Coalition, formerly known as Watershed Advisory Committee 7, was formed in 2003 as a partnership among Westchester County municipalities and agencies and not-for-profit organizations seeking the same goal: to improve water quality in the Bronx River. Over time, state and New York City agencies joined the effort, too. The Coalition sought to achieve its goal by developing a comprehensive management plan, available on this website, which lays out a strategy for limiting the amount of pollution entering the river and its tributaries via stormwater runoff.
Coalition members included municipalities in Westchester County whose boundaries fall wholly or partly within the Bronx River watershed: Ardsley, Bronxville, Eastchester, Elmsford, Greenburgh, Harrison, Mount Pleasant, Mount Vernon, New Castle, North Castle, Scarsdale, Tuckahoe, White Plains, and Yonkers. Other members include the Westchester County Department of Planning, Westchester County Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation, and the Bronx River Conservancy, Bronx River Alliance, Kensico Environmental Enhancement Program, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, New York City Department of Environmental Protection, New York Department of State Division of Coastal Resources, and New York Department of Environmental Conservation Division of Water.
The Center for Watershed Protection, Biohabitats, and Northern Ecological Associates assisted staff of the Westchester County Department of Planning in developing the Bronx River Watershed Management Plan. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District, and Westchester County Department of Health and Department of Laboratories and Research also provided assistance.
