Hudson River Direct Drainage

Introduction

“A small river or stream flowing by one’s door has many attractions over a large body of water like the Hudson. One can make a companion of it; he can walk with it and sit with it, or lounge on its banks, and feel that it is all his own. It becomes something private and special to him. You cannot have the same kind of attachment and sympathy with a great river; it does not flow through your affections like a lesser stream. The Hudson is a long arm of the sea, and it has something of the sea’s austerity and grandeur.”

- from “A River View” in Signs and Seasons, by John Burroughs (1886)

General Info

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The Hudson Direct Drainage is in the western-most part of the county and designated as the area within Dutchess County, NY that drains directly into the Hudson. Hudson Direct Drainage includes the municipalities of (listed from north to south):

Subwatersheds within Hudson direct drainage and their respective New York State Department of Environmental Conservation classifications (if available) are listed below:

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Land Use History

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The subwatersheds of Hudson Direct Drainage cover the western-most part of the county closest to the Hudson River from the most northern to the most southern part of the county. The geographic size and range of the Hudson Direct watershed allows for a variety of land uses and land use patterns. Current land uses in the Hudson Direct watershed range from rural farms in the more northern part of the county to suburban areas and the urbanized City of Poughkeepsie. Outside of urban areas, vegetation is dominantly oak-maple deciduous forest, with limited amounts of pasture and orchards.

As a whole watershed, the Hudson Direct has nearly 20% of low-intensity to high-intensity developed land cover, meaning that impervious surfaces cover a significant amount of the landscape. At 47% of the total land area in Hudson Direct, deciduous forests dominate the landscape. Pasture/Hay take up another 18% of the land area. While evergreen forest, mixed forest, scrub/shrub, cultivated crops, barren land and wetlands fill in the rest of the remaining landscape. For the five northernmost watersheds, developed areas range from 4.7% (Saw Kill) to 34% (Casperkill). Click on the map to the right to see a larger version of the landuse/landcover map.

In post-European settlement times, the Dutchess County area has undergone a transformation from being a densely forested area to an agriculturally dominated landscape. In the past century the trend has gone in the opposite direction: previously farmed lands are now being reforested. However, the landscape change has not been as simple as a reversal to reforestation: urban and suburban development is also drastically impacting the landscape of Dutchess County and of the Hudson Direct watershed. In recent decades, over a third of new buildings in the county have been erected on suburban lots larger than 2 acres. Much of Dutchess County is zoned for residential development at densities of 2-5 acres (0.8-2 ha) or more per residence, and there is a trend of expansive suburban development.

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Geology

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The bedrock geology of the Hudson Direct Watershed consists primarily of sedimentary rocks. Graywacke and shale from the Austin Glen formation account for over 60% of the watershed’s bedrock material. In general, limestones and shales tend to be softer and weaker than sandstones like graywacke. Other bedrock material is from the Germantown Formation, Wappingers Dolomite, Mount Merino and Indian River Formations, Normanskill Group, Stuyvesant Falls Formation and Taconic Melange.

Soil geology is important to know in order to understand water flow and movement. The map to the right shows general soil drainage class of the Hudson Direct Drainage. Class B and C soils dominate the soil composition of the Hudson Direct watershed and make up over 70% of the watershed. Class A soils transmit water quickly, leading to soils that are well to excessively well drained and recharge groundwater. Class B soils are considered moderately well drained, class C poorly drained, and class D very poorly drained. Classes C and D commonly generate runoff during heavy rains as pore spaces in these soils fill with water and the slow infiltration rate inhibits downward movement of water. In urbanized areas such as the City of Poughkeepsie, the soil drainage class is unspecified because development has disrupted the natural drainage pattern of the soil.

In order to properly plan development it is essential to take into account soil drainage class. Class A and B soils take in excess water during rain events and regulate water flow in our streams. It is important to minimize the amount of impervious surfaces on these soils in order to allow proper infilitration rates and minimize flooding.

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Wildlife and Fisheries

The lakes and streams of the Hudson Direct watershed provide habitat for both naturally occurring populations of fish species as well as artificially stocked populations. Fish species observed in the Hudson Direct watershed include:

Mammals in the Hudson Direct watershed include:

Reptiles and amphibians in the streams of the Hudson Direct watershed include:

American Eel

The waters of many Hudson Direct Drainage streams provide vital habitat to the migratory American eel, which is born in the Atlantic Ocean and uses the tributaries of North American rivers like the Hudson during juvenile development. Due to declining populations, the NYSDEC Hudson River Estuary Program and National Estuarine Research Reserve has initiated research to obtain baseline population information on the American eel. More information about American eel research in Hudson Direct Drainage streams can be found here. The Fallkill, Crum Elbow and Saw Kill are all known to provide habitat for American eels. Researchers have found high densities of American eels at the mouth of the Saw Kill (13,100-16,900 eels/ha). In 2006, an eel passage device was installed over a small dam in the Saw Kill. This trap-and-transfer system has allowed over 200 eels to reach vital upstream habitat during the past 3 summers.

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Water Quality

The NYSDEC classifies streams in the Hudson Direct Drainage anywhere from Class A (such as the Crum Elbow Creek) to Class C (such as the Landsman Kill, Fall Kill and Casperkill). Many factors impact the water quality in these streams, including land use within the watershed, non-point source pollution, and the amount of impervious surfaces surrounding the creeks. More specific information on water quality of the Fall Kill and Casperkill can be found in their respective watershed pages.

Researchers from the Vassar College Environmental Research Institute and Bard College have studied five watersheds within the Hudson Direct of Dutchess County: the Saw Kill, the Landsman Kill, the Crum Elbow, the Fallkill and the Casperkill. These five Hudson River tributaries have similar watershed areas (30-70 km2), discharge, topography, and geology, but vary in land use patterns, ranging from highly urbanized to mostly rural. For the five streams studied by Vassar College and Bard College, average chloride levels (mean of all samples for a stream) ranged from 30 to 145 mg/L in winter and from 24 to 91 mg/L in summer. Mean nitrate levels ranged from 0.29 to 0.82 mg/L in winter and 0.29 to 0.64 mg/L in summer. Less urbanized streams were more healthy while the more urbanized streams showed significantly higher levels of pollutants.

Farms were most abundant in the northern watersheds, especially that of the Saw Kill. Wastewater treatment plants were located in the lower reaches of three of the watersheds. Levels of impervious surface cover, population, chloride, and nitrate increased from upper to lower reaches of most streams, with the most dramatic increases occurring in the Casperkill, the most developed watershed in the study. More information on the Five watersheds can be found on the research page of our website.

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Public Access Sites

Public Access Sites to Water Resources in Dutchess County

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Public access sites in the Hudson River Direct Drainage watershed

Indicates a public access point to the Hudson River or a Hudson Direct drainage stream	Indicates a public access site on the Fall Kill
Indicates a public access site on the Casperkill

Public access sites in nearby watersheds

Indicates a public access site on the Ten Mile River or a tributary to the Ten Mile River	Indicates a public access site on the Fishkill Creek
Indicates a public access site for the Roeliff Jansen Kill	Indicates a public access site on the Wappinger or a tributary to the Wappinger

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Documents and Reports

• Casperkill Assessment Document
• Fall Kill Watershed Management Plan
• The Suburban Stream Syndrome: Evaluating Land Use and Stream Impairments in the Suburbs

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