Hutchinson River
The Hutchinson River is a 10 mile-long (16 km) freshwater stream located in the New York City borough of the Bronx and Southern Westchester County, New York, United States. It forms on the New Rochelle–Scarsdale municipal line off Brookline Road in the latter community and flows south, draining a 19.4-square-mile (50 km2) area. It continues to serve as New Rochelle's city line with Eastchester; further downstream; its lower reaches divide Mount Vernon and Pelham until it enters the Bronx and empties into Long Island Sound's Eastchester Bay.
| Hutchinson River East Chester Creek, Eastchester Creek, Eastchester River, Hutchins Creek, Hutchinson Creek, Hutchinson's Brook, Hutchinson's River, Hutchinsons River | |
|---|---|
River in Twin Lakes County Park between Lake Innisfree and Reservoir 3 | |
| Native name | Aquacanounck, Aqueanounck, Aqueanouncke (Munsee) |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| Region | Greater New York City |
| Counties | Westchester, Bronx |
| Cities, towns and villages | Scarsdale, New Rochelle, Eastchester, Mount Vernon, Pelham Manor, Pelham and New York City |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | confluence of unnamed streams |
| • location | Scarsdale–New Rochelle municipal boundary |
| • coordinates | 40.9862°N 73.7863°W |
| • elevation | 235 ft (72 m) |
| Mouth | Eastchester Bay |
• location | Bronx, New York |
• coordinates | 40.8539°N 73.8078°W |
• elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
| Length | 10 mi (16 km) |
| Basin size | 19.4 sq mi (50 km2) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Pelham |
| • average | 7.24 cubic feet (0.205 m3)/sec |
| • minimum | 0.01 cubic feet (0.00028 m3)/sec |
| • maximum | 526 cubic feet (14.9 m3)/sec |
The river is named for Anne Hutchinson, who came from Rhode Island in 1642 and settled on Pelham Neck to the east of the river, across from where Co-op City is now.
Much of the land in the Hutchinson's watershed has been extensively developed over the last century as the New York metropolitan area grew and suburbanized. Along all but its uppermost and lowermost stretches, it is paralleled by the Hutchinson River Parkway. At three points along its length it has been dammed to create reservoirs. Its lower three miles (5 km) are commercially navigable and still in use by shipping.
As a result of all this pressure, the river is seriously polluted. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation rates the entire stream as impaired to an extent that it cannot be used as drinking water or recreationally; local authorities discourage eating any fish caught from the Hutchinson. Efforts to clean up the river have begun both in the form of remediation programs and lawsuits against polluters.