New York Codes, Rules and Regulations
Title 6 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
Chapter X - DIVISION OF WATER RESOURCES
Subchapter B - CLASSES AND STANDARDS OF QUALITY AND PURITY ASSIGNED TO FRESH SURFACE AND TIDAL SALT WATERS
Article 13 - NEW YORK CITY WATERS SERIES
Part 890 - NEW YORK CITY WATERS
Section 890.3 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024

The several terms, words or phrases hereinafter mentioned shall be construed as follows:

(a) Item No.

In Table I an item number is assigned consecutively to each specifically designated waters or portion thereof.

(b) Waters index number as appearing in Table I shall mean that number or abbreviation assigned to any designated waters or portion thereof for the purpose of identification.

(1) The numbering or index system used to identify specific waters of New York State was adapted from that used by the New York State Conservation Department in its biological survey series of reports on watersheds of the State. The primary waters of a drainage area, such as a river, large lake, bay or sound is usually referred to by name or an abbreviation. Tributaries of primary river waters are consecutively numbered progressing upstream from the mouth. Tributaries of primary lake, bay or sound waters are consecutively numbered in a clockwise order from a defined point, usually the outlet of the primary waters. Subtributaries are numbered as encountered along the tributary proceeding from its mouth to the source, and in like manner all of its other stream courses are so numbered. Ponds and lakes are numbered in the order they are encountered within the system. Tributaries of such lakes and ponds are numbered consecutively as they enter, progressing clockwise around the lake or pond from its outlet or mouth. The numbers assigned to such lakes and ponds are prefixed by the letter P. When isolated lakes and ponds are referenced by a waters index number, it is merely for convenience of their identification and location within a subdrainage basin, and it is not necessarily indicative of their being tributary to any waters to which no surface connection is shown on the reference maps.

(2) This system was applied to the waters under consideration by the New York State Conservation Department in its Biological Survey of the Lower Hudson Watershed and Biological Survey of the Fresh Waters of Long Island in 1936 and 1938, respectively, and has been closely followed in connection with the numerical identification of the waters with the following exceptions: some of the stream numbers do not run consecutively due to the omission of streams originally shown on the older maps employed by the Conservation Department at the time of its 1936 and 1938 surveys but not shown on later editions of maps reproduced herein. Conversely, streams, lakes and ponds not shown on the older maps but appearing on the newer maps are designated by suffix letters a, b, c, etc.

(3) The system as applied to the identification of the designated waters may be outlined as follows: There are several primary indices used to identify the designated waters. Those waters that drain Staten Island proper are identified by waters index numbers prefixed by the abbreviation SI. Waters draining Long Island proper are identified by waters index numbers prefixed by the abbreviation LI. Waters of the East River are identified by waters index numbers prefixed by ER. Accordingly, those waters within the designated basin that have not been assigned waters index numbers, such as New York Bay, Raritan Bay, Arthur Kill, Kill Van Kull and Atlantic Ocean, have been identified by name only.

(4) The following table will illustrate how the designated waters may be identified through use of the waters index system:

Waters index number Name of waters Explanation
None assigned Atlantic Ocean New York Bay Raritan Bay Arthur Kill Gowanus Bay Gravesend Bay Newark Bay Kill Van Kull Primary waters identified by description and not used to index tributaries.
SI 8-1-1 Springville Creek Springville Creek is the first tributary of SI 8-1 (Main Creek) and Main Creek is the first tributary of SI 8 (Fresh Kills) located on Staten Island.
LI 253 Coney Island Creek The 253rd stream encountered on Long Island proceeding in a clockwise direction around the island from Fort Hamilton.
ER East River Primary waters.
ER 1 Harlem River The first tributary entering East River above the mouth.
ER 1-5 Tibbetts Brook The fifth tributary entering Harlem River above the mouth.
ER 1-5-P 1043 Van Cortlandt Lake The 1043rd pond or lake encountered in the biological survey area of the Lower Hudson River watershed.
ER 1-5 (1.0) Tibbetts Brook A point on Tibbetts Brook one mile above the mouth.

(5) There are instances where a parenthetical decimal number appears following the waters index number. Such number appearing within the parentheses indicates the distance in miles above the mouth to a point on the identified watercourse.

(c) The abbreviations trib. and tribs., indicating tributary and tributaries, shall mean any stream, pond or other body of surface water which flows into any other stream, pond or other body of surface water; where no tributary or tributaries are mentioned, the specifically designated waters shall include only the stream, pond or other body of water referenced by such waters index number; where a tributary or tributaries are mentioned after the waters index number, the specifically designated waters shall include the stream, pond or other body of water referenced by such waters index number and all tributaries thereof, which are shown on the reference maps, excluding numbered ponds, unless exceptions are expressly stated.

(d) Name as appearing in Table I shall mean the name by which the specifically designated waters are known and which name may appear on the reference maps. In cases of specifically designated waters which have no name, the named waters to which the unnamed waters are tributary are identified as far as possible.

(e) Description.

The column headed "Description" contains designations of segments or sections of waters under consideration to which a particular assignment of a class or standards shall apply. Also included in this column is any useful information pertinent to the classification and standards.

(f) Map Ref. No., as appearing in Table I, means map reference number and indicates one or more of the following numbered maps reproduced herein completely or in part in section 890.11, infra, on which maps the specifically designated waters and their index numbers are shown within the topographical limit line of the described drainage basins or areas. An index for map numbers is shown on Map 2, quadrangle arrangement, reproduced in section 890.8, infra. The following maps were produced from original maps which may be procured through the Washington Distribution Section, Geological Survey, Silver Spring, Maryland.

Map Ref. No. Quadrangle name Edition Published by
R-24nw Yonkers 1956 U.S. Geological Survey
R-24ne Mount Vernon 1956 U.S. Geological Survey
R-24sw Central Park 1956 U.S. Geological Survey
S-22se Perth Amboy 1956 U.S. Geological Survey
S-23nw Elizabeth 1955 U.S. Geological Survey
S-23ne Jersey City 1955 U.S. Geological Survey
S-23sw Arthur Kill 1955 U.S. Geological Survey
S-23se The Narrows 1955 U.S. Geological Survey
S-24nw Brooklyn 1956 U.S. Geological Survey
S-24ne Jamaica 1956 U.S. Geological Survey
S-24sw Coney Island 1955 U.S. Geological Survey
S-24se Far Rockaway 1954 U.S. Geological Survey
S-25sw Lawrence 1954 U.S. Geological Survey
T-22ne South Amboy 1954 U.S. Geological Survey
T-23nw Keyport 1954 U.S. Geological Survey
T-23ne Sandy Hook 1954 U.S. Geological Survey

(g) Class, as appearing in Table I and denoted by the letters AA, B, C, SA, SB, SC or SD, and the Roman numeral I opposite each specifically designated waters, shall mean Class AA, B, C, SA, SB, SC or SD, as the case may be, as set forth in Part 701, supra; and in the case of Roman numeral I shall mean Class I as set forth in Part 702, supra.

(h) Standards, as appearing in Table I and denoted by the letters AA, B, C, SA, SB, SC or SD, and the Roman numeral I opposite each specifically designated waters, shall mean the quality standards established for Class AA, B, C, SA, SB, SC, SD or I as the case may be, established by the aforementioned rules.

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