Fall Kill Creek

Introduction

"It is mid-summer in the Hudson Valley, and it is hot. The air is thick with humidity, and far off in the distance thunder rumbles. Lightning flashes and rain begins to fall in the middle of an old farm field in the town of Clinton. Soon there is a downpour and the thirsty ground soaks up the rain. Puddles form and tiny rivulets start to flow downhill into a dry streambed. The tiny stream grows and flows through a back yard and under a road, bumping into trees and blossoming shrubs; flowing over knee high grass. Tiny particles of sand and salt from last winter get trapped in the vegetation, filtering the water as is continues on its way. The small stream continues flowing down slope until it meets up with another small stream. The two join and form the mainstem of the Fall Kill.

As the rain continues the Fall Kill is no longer a sleepy little creek going unnoticed, but a raging river, encroaching upon the homes that are built in its flood plain. In Hyde Park, the rain falls not only on fields, but also on lawns, parking lots, roofs and sidewalks. The water streams out of gutters, funneled onto driveways and forming puddles that soon become small reservoirs feeding into the nearby storm drain. The storm drain leads directly to the Fall Kill and this water adds to what is already heading toward the city of Poughkeepsie."

- from A Journey through the Watershed, by Jennifer Rubbo, Fall Kill Watershed Coordinator (2008)

General info

The Fall Kill Creek (also known as the Fallkill and as Fallkill Creek) flows approximately 16 miles from its source in Hyde Park and Clinton to the Hudson River. The Fall Kill watershed is contained entirely within Dutchess County, NY, and covers approximately 19.5 square miles (12,476 acres). The Fall Kill watershed includes the municipalities of (listed from upstream to downstream):

• Hyde Park
• Clinton
• Pleasant Valley
• Town of Poughkeepsie
• City of Poughkeepsie

Approximately 28,500 people live within the watershed. Based on existing zoning, the number of dwelling units in the watershed’s municipalities could increase considerably in the future. Over half of the watershed area and 65% of the stream’s length is within the Town of Hyde Park. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) classifies the creek as a “Class C” stream, suitable for fishing, but not for bathing. In a 2000 report, the DEC listed the Fall Kill as a creek with known impaired aquatic life as a result of urban runoff and suspected nutrients.

The Fall Kill Watershed Committee

The Fall Kill Watershed Committee, formed in 2002, is a coalition of community groups, educational institutions, businesses, local governmental officials, environmental groups, social services groups, and interested community individuals living and working in the Fall Kill watershed. The Committee concentrates on protection and revitalization of the historic Fall Kill Creek and its surrounding watershed. The efforts of the Committee have focused on goals laid out in the 2006 Watershed Management Plan that is based upon two years of research and water quality monitoring. These goals include: improving water quality to the point that the stream can be upgraded from Class C to Class B, capable of supporting swimming and other forms of contact recreation; protecting open space along the creek to provide habitat for fish and wildlife as well as places where humans can interact with the natural world; providing more public access to the creek and increase recreational opportunities for the public to enhance a sense of community ownership and caring; and developing educational programs to inform the public and policy makers about the ecological and historical significance of the creek.

For further information on the Fall Kill Watershed Committee, see the organizations and the Fall Kill section of the Community Forum.

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Land Use History

Although the mouth of the Fall Kill is in the City of Poughkeepsie, the types of land uses in the watershed are highly variable. Based off calculations from the National Land Cover Data (NLCD) 2001, deciduous forests at 45% of the total land area are the largest percent of the watershed. Low to high intensity developed areas, which range from 20-100% impervious encompass over 16% of the watershed, and pasture/hay take up just over 15% of the watershed. Open water, developed areas with primarily open space (such as golf courses, lawns, etc.), barren land, evergreen and mixed forests, scrub/shrub, grassland, cultivated crops and wetlands take up the rest of the remaining watershed area.

Areas in the northern reaches of the creek are less developed. Large wetlands, marshes and woodlots comprise the northern part of the watershed and play an important role in the creek’s health, while providing habitat for a number of species. According to the NYSDEC, several threatened and endangered species and habitats are located in the watershed and are listed under the New York State Natural Heritage Program. The creek goes through a dramatic transformation as it flows downstream from its northern reaches in Hyde Park and Clinton to the City of Poughkeepsie and the Hudson River. Moving south from Hyde Park, riparian zones along the creek begin to shrink as the creek passes through residential development. As the creek enters the City of Poughkeepsie, development creeps closer to the creek’s edge: the landscape is dominated by streets, parking lots, commercial developments and other impervious surfaces.

The stream is channeled by the New Deal Era stonewalls that swiftly move water through the city and into the Hudson River. In several areas of the approximate 2.5 mile channelized stream segment, the walls have deteriorated significantly and have started to crumble into the creek due to undercutting of the foundation courses. In 2005, the City of Poughkeepsie was considering its engineering options and is researching grants to rehabilitate the walls. Wall repair will have to be planned and carried out with utmost consideration to the health and integrity of the riparian zone due to its vital role in maintaining a healthy stream ecosystem.

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Geology

The bedrock geology of the Fall Kill Watershed consists primarily of sedimentary rocks. Approximately 78% of the watershed’s bedrock is made up of graywacke and shale from the Austin Glen Formation. The remainder of the watershed includes sedimentary rocks varying from argillite, chert, slate and siltstone from the Taconic Melange, Normanskill Group and Mount Merino and Indian River Formations. According to the Biodiversity Assessment Manual for the Hudson River Estuary Corridor, the Austin Glen Formation bedrock is potentially calcareous, while the other formations are alkaline. These properties help to insure that the stream is not overly sensitive to chronic inputs of acidic precipitation and that the stream and surface soils will be fairly productive due to weathering of nutrients from the bedrock.

Well drained to excessively well drained soils make up nearly two-thirds of the Fall Kill Watershed. The remainder of the watershed is made up of seventeen different soils ranging from excessively poorly drained to well drained. These areas of poor drainage occur within or along the banks of the Fall Kill and in wetlands. Septic systems built too close to the banks of the creek in excessively drained soils may result in fecal coliform and E. coli contamination of both the creek and drinking wells. Additionally, heavy rain-producing storms can cause severe flooding and bacterial contamination as the water flows quickly from the excessively drained soils into the poorly drained soils along the creek.

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Wildlife and Fisheries

The stream and associated riparian zones around the stream hosts a variety of wildlife including birds, mammals, reptiles, fish and amphibians. Riparian zones are distinctive bands of vegetation bordering streams and rivers. The riparian zones in the Fall Kill watershed provide habitat for wildlife associated with aquatic systems such as birds, amphibians, and reptiles. The linear arrangement of these transitional areas also serves as a corridor for the migration of wildlife between otherwise disconnected open space.

The waters of the Fall Kill provide habitat for at least fifteen species of fish including Bluegill, Cutlips Minnow, Tessellated Darter and White Sucker. The Fall Kill also provides vital habitat to the migratory American eel, which is born in the Atlantic Ocean and uses the tributaries of the North American Rivers like the Hudson during juvenile development. Due to the declining populations of American Eel, the NYSDEC Hudson River Estuary Program and National Estuarine Research Reserve have initiated research to obtain baseline population information on the American Eel. More about American eel research on the Fall Kill can be found here.

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Water Quality

It is necessary to measure a variety of water quality parameters in order to obtain an accurate picture of stream health. The New York State Deparment of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) rates streams according to certain water quality indicators and assigns categories indicating acceptable uses. The NYSDEC classifies the Fall Kill creek as a “Class C” stream, suitable for fishing, but not for bathing. Additionally The Fall Kill is listed on the New York State Priority Waterbodies List (PWL) for remediation. According the PWL, the Fall Kill is impaired from Haviland Road in Hyde Park to its confluence with the Hudson River. Specifically, pathogens and debris impair aquatic life and aesthetics. Other suspected types of pollutants include nutrients, sediment, oxygen demand, and unknown toxicity. Potential sources of the pollution include failing septic systems (upstream), industrial and municipal sources, construction operations, and the College Hill golf course. The water quality data presented here represents a small subset of the research on the Fallkill conducted primarily in 2004, please see the Fall Kill Management Plan for more extensive data.

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Water Quality - Chemical

2004 research findings on the Fall Kill for Nitrate-N, Phosphate-P, Chloride and Sulfate are summed in the table below.

 

 

 

 

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Water Quality - Biological

Aquatic Community Health

The macroinvertebrate research in the Fall Kill indicates the stream is slightly impacted through the majority of the stream’s length to moderately impacted in its lower reaches. According to the 2004 assessment profile Dorsey Lane was the healthiest and Verazzano Blvd was the most impaired. Results from Dorsey Lane and Cream Street indicated the water quality was slightly impacted, most likely from nonpoint source pollutants. Verazzano Blvd was moderately impacted because of urban sources of pollution. These 2004 findings are similar to the 1997 findings of the NYSDEC, indicating little change in water quality in the intervening years.

Fish samples were taken at Dorsey Lane, Cream St, Smith St, and Verazzano Blvd on June, 18, 2004 and August 26, 2004. A total of 375 fish, representing 15 different species, were caught, identified and released during the summer of 2004. The highest fish total and species richness, or variety of species, was found at Smith Street. Dorsey Lane and Smith Street had the healthiest fish communities based on the species richness, diversity index, number of fish caught, and the pollution tolerance of the fish caught. Cream Street and Verazzano Boulevard fish catches were smaller, less diverse and included species tolerant to pollution. The community at Cream Street is likely impacted by the dam at Fall Kill Park about a quarter-mile upstream. The channelization of the Fall Kill through the City of Poughkeepsie creates minimal habit for fish because of the high current velocity, and the fish that inhabit the urban section of the creek are hampered by the poor water quality.

Bacteria

Coliform bacteria counts can be used to determine whether fecal contamination is high enough to pose risks to human health. Two frequently used coliform indicators are Escherichia coli (E. coli), a type of fecal coliform, and total coliform, a combination of both fecal and non-fecal coliforms. Coliform bacteria were found throughout the stream. Coliform bacteria counts on the whole were extremely high, consistently above the NYSDEC Class C fecal coliform standards: 200 CFUs/100mL (CFU’s refers to Colony Forming Units) for E. coli (geometric mean for 5 sample dates) and 2400 CFUs/100 mL total coliform (median for 5 sample dates). The highest counts for total coliforms were found at Valkill and Cream Street, with median values over 10,000 CFUs/100mL. E. coli were found sporadically at the five northernmost sites, and consistently at Smith Street and Verazzano Boulevard. Mean values of E. coli at Verazzano Boulevard exceeded 2,000 CFUs/100mL.

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Public Access Sites

The Hoffman House along Water Street abuts the Fall Kill before it enters the Hudson River. The Hoffman House is in a historic area of the City of Poughkeepsie and is in a prime location for recreation with the falls of the creek, Waryas Park, and the Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum nearby. Waryas Park offers views of the Hudson River, the Walkway Over the Hudson, the Mid-Hudson Bridge, and also provides a public boat launch area. While on the Walkway Over the Hudson, one can view a Fall Kill waterfall in the City of Poughkeepsie. Further upstream in the center of Poughkeepsie, Malcolm X Park and Morse Elementary School along Mansion Street provide open space areas for recreation, and can become a potential staging area for creek festivals or other public functions.

Fall Kill Park was once part of the Hudson River Psychiatric Center and the dam just north of Cream Street allowed the center to use the lake for ice production. Currently, access to the park is limited and the area is underutilized. Improving access to the site could provide a great recreational opportunity for car-top boaters, fishermen, bird watchers, hikers, and photographers.

In Hyde Park, the Fall Kill passes through the historic Valkill property, which was built by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt for his wife, Eleanor. The property provided Eleanor and her friends a getaway from the large house, Springwood, on Route 9. Today, the Dutch fieldstone structure and open space is a draw for tourists and naturalists. Scenic Hudson recently purchased a parcel between Route 9 and Route 9G to create a trail connecting Valkill with FDR’s Springwood property and the Vanderbilt property further north on Route 9. The three properties have open fields and serene areas available for Hudson River sightseeing, bird watching, picnicking, nature photography as well as historical buildings and the Presidential Library and Museum.

Public Access Sites to Water Resources in Dutchess County

Double click on the map to zoom in, or click on an icon to get more information about a public access site!

View a larger version of this map

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Top Threats

1. Presence of litter/ solid waste - Solid waste is the most visible problem within the City of Poughkeepsie.

2. Fecal coliform bacteria contamination – Total coliform bacteria and E. coli were consistently high certain stretches of the stream. The source is most likely from leaky septic systems, pet wastes in urban storm runoff, and/or faulty or illegal sewer pipes.

3. High conductivity and salinity – Conductivity and salinity were consistently the highest in the City of Poughkeepsie. This can be attributed to dissolved solids getting into the creek either through storm drains, faulty sewer lines or direct runoff into the stream. Road deicing in the winter causes dissolved salts to run into the creek and elevates salinity.

4. Heavy metal contaminated soils – Heavy metals have been found in sediment samples from the Fall Kill in the City of Poughkeepsie. Current or historical sources of the metals should be investigated, and hot spots should be remediated.

5. Lack of riparian buffers – Riparian zones are narrow throughout many parts of the watershed or many riparian zones are insubstantial. Riparian zones should not just include large trees that provide shade to the creek, but also shrubs and grasses that prevent nutrients and suspended particles from running into the stream or wetlands.

6. Use of pesticides and fertilizers – Fertilizers and pesticides can easily get into the creek in Suburban areas, especially in areas where lawns have replaced riparian buffers.

7. Lack of public access to Fall Kill Park – Currently, access to the county owned land is limited to the area around the dam. Opening up the area would allow for further recreational usage of the site, including fishing, canoeing, kayaking, bird watching and hiking.

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Documents and Reports

• Fall Kill Watershed Management Plan
• A Rapid Trash Assessment of the Fall Kill

Much of the content for this page was adapted from the Fall Kill Watershed Management Plan.

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A Journey through the Watershed

It is mid-summer in the Hudson Valley, and it is hot. The air is thick with humidity, and far off in the distance thunder rumbles. Lightning flashes and rain begins to fall in the middle of an old farm field in the town of Clinton. Soon there is a downpour and the thirsty ground soaks up the rain. Puddles form and tiny rivulets start to flow downhill into a dry streambed. The tiny stream grows and flows through a back yard and under a road, bumping into trees and blossoming shrubs; flowing over knee high grass. Tiny particles of sand and salt from last winter get trapped in the vegetation, filtering the water as it continues on its way. The small stream continues flowing down slope until it meets up with another small stream. The two join and form the mainstem of the Fall Kill.

As the rain continues the Fall Kill is no longer a sleepy little creek going unnoticed, but a raging river, encroaching upon the homes that are built in its flood plain. In Hyde Park, the rain falls not only on fields, but also on lawns, parking lots, roofs and sidewalks. The water streams out of gutters, funneled onto driveways and forming puddles that soon become small reservoirs feeding into the nearby storm drain. The storm drain leads directly to the Fall Kill and this water adds to what is already heading toward the city of Poughkeepsie. Backyards form a ribbon next to the creek. They are private retreats for adults and children alike, who take advantage of the gifts the creek brings to them. A quite place to read, a cool spot to wade during hot summer afternoons and access to an abundance of frogs, turtles, ducks and fish that also call the stream their home.

The houses and roads dissipate and the stream channel disappears as the landscape forms a large wetland complex. The trees and shrubs grow numerous and thick. As the water surrounds them it again slows as if going over speed bumps. An elusive red-shouldered hawk screeches from above and a rare wood turtle raised its head out of the water. The Fall Kill has reached one of the many wetlands in Hyde Park and for the moment has returned to its slower, sleepy pace. The water continues downstream making its way toward the city of Poughkeepsie.

As it reaches the city, stonewalls rise on either side of the creek. Now there is little to slow it down, except perhaps the old couch, or the misused bike, that somehow found their way into the creek. Sidewalks line the creek in many areas and several passersby stop to watch the water as it flows under a street crossing. In the city, the creek is part of the neighborhood, to some a nuisance and an eyesore, to others an important connection to their environment and a source of pleasure. The water level increases and at one point a stone falls from the historic wall into the creek, causing the unsteady tree above it to tilt a little further toward the center of the channel. The rain begins to slow and finally stops. Yet the water level still rises as 12,000 acres of land continues to drain into the stream channel; on its way to toward its destination – the Hudson River.

In recent years, development has increased in the Fall Kill watershed, as well as in other watersheds throughout the Hudson Valley. Less of the rain infiltrates into the ground and more water, moves more quickly, into the 38 stream miles that make up the Fall Kill. This reality is manifested most noticeably as we read the papers and hear about the flooding and water quality issues so apparent in our region. In recent years public awareness has risen about these issues. Local watershed groups are doing their part to advocate for cleaner, healthier watersheds.

“A Journey through the Watershed”
by Jennifer Rubbo, Fall Kill Watershed Coordinator

Adapted from "Tracing the Fall Kill," Poughkeepsie Journal Environment Page (July 27, 2008)

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