explore

Explore Uses

Human needs are in the driver’s seat

On the previous page, you brainstormed possible answers to the question What is a river good for? from different perspectives. What human needs & uses did you come up with? Do they fit into these categories?

Consumption - Drinking Water and Food (fish)
Recreation - Swimming, Boating, Fishing
Agriculture - Irrigation and Improved Soils
Manufacturing & Commerce - Industry, Transportation & Jobs
Waste Management - Waste Disposal Systems
Development - Waterfront residential or commercial building

Looking back in history, we can see that the indigenous people of the Hackensack watershed used the river for very similar purposes. So did the early European Settlers. But over time, there has been a dramatic shift in the quality of the water in the river and the health of the land around the river. Population increase and industrialization demanded more and more from the watershed and ultimately resulted in degradation of the riparian and aquatic ecosystems.

How have modern communities changed the watershed to meet their needs?

It's time to explore uses of the river.

How are the watershed and the river used in your community to support human needs? Let's do a little research.

You will be considering these essential questions while you work:

What benefits have resulted from changes to the river/ watershed?
What problems or threats have resulted from changes to the river/ watershed?

Research Steps:

Start with a closer look at the waterways in the watershed. Use the button below to visit the EPA's website, "How's My Waterway." Type in your zip code and use the toggles to find the waterways, monitoring stations, and permitted dischargers in your area. Then use the tabs at the top to find out what is known about human needs and the water quality itself.
Next select from the Uses below to examine a specific human need.
Use the inquiry questions on each page to learn about this use of the river, and its impacts over time.
Ask yourself, is this use of the river more prevalent in the Upper or Lower Hackensack?
How does your community use the river? Develop new questions about your own community's impact on the river as you learn.
Record any new questions and the answers you find in your journal or science notebook.
Do your best to answer the essential questions to summarize what you’ve learned.