Clifton NJ replaces water main to protect historic barns
2 minutes reading time
Historic Clifton Animal Quarantine Station
The Clifton Historic Quarantine Station Preservation Foundation aims to preserve the historic buildings that were once filled with animals introduced to the United States
Mitsu Yasukawa, NorthJersey.com
CLIFTON – The city will replace a 120-year-old water main that once supplied water to the barns that served as the U.S. animal quarantine station at Clifton and Van Houten avenues, where City Hall now stands.
The main line will be replaced with a larger one that can carry more water to the area to protect the same historic buildings in the event of a fire.
A new 6-inch or 8-inch water main will allow for the connection of additional hydrants on the property, which includes the town hall and historic barns, some of which have been modernized and remodeled.
“The entire complex, all of these barns, are served by a 2-inch pipe,” City Manager Nick Villano told City Council members. The century-old pipe has likely constricted and “shrunk to less than 1 inch due to sediment,” Villano said.
The story continues below the photo gallery.
This water line is not sufficient to supply water to the urgently needed additional hydrants at the 26-hectare complex, which was once home to exotic animals from all over the world, their first stop during their quarantine in the United States.
The city became aware of the need to replace the water main when the Clifton Adult Opportunity Center, a nonprofit organization that provides programs for adults with developmental disabilities, proposed expanding its building in one of its animal quarantine pens.
While reviewing the expansion plans, the city’s fire marshal took a closer look at the center’s proposal to run a water main from one of the nearby main streets to supply water to the sprinkler system and a fire hydrant.
However, in order to provide a hydrant network with sufficient water and to protect the various barns and buildings, the centuries-old main line must be replaced, the marshal recommended.
More: Residents compare Clifton councillors vying for seats to preschool children
The hydrants are considered necessary because there is currently only one fire hydrant in the complex, near the Van Houten entrance. If a fire were to break out at the other end of the complex, firefighters would have to string hoses together to reach it.
The city engineer’s office estimated the cost at $750,000 to $900,000. The council agreed with the manager’s recommendation to lay a new line and create a water loop connecting the Colfax and Van Houten Avenue mains.
The money would likely come from American Rescue Plan Act funds the city received to offset the economic damage done to cities and towns during the pandemic.
A plan should be relatively straightforward, Villano told the council, because unlike sewer and drain pipes, water mains are pressurized, so elevation changes along the line are not a problem. The council approved Villano’s proposal to begin planning the new main.
Protection of the historic site
For nearly 80 years, from 1900 to 1979, the property was known as the “Ellis Island of Animals,” where all animals entering the country were first quarantined before being sent on to other parts of the country.
Musk oxen, giraffes, cattle, sheep and circus animals roamed the property.
In the late 1970s, the federal government moved the quarantine station to Stewart International Airport in northern New York State.
Today, some of the Clifton barns have been converted to serve as a senior center, animal shelter, and the city’s arts center.
