Biohazard Cleanup Near Haskell Wanaque, NJ

Wanaque is a borough in Passaic County that was incorporated on February 23, 1918, when the old Pompton Township was split into three boroughs — Wanaque, Bloomingdale and Ringwood — a division affirmed by a referendum held on March 22, 1918.

The borough's name, originally pronounced 'Wa Na Kee,' is thought to be derived from a Lenni Lenape Native American word meaning 'land of sassafras.'

Wanaque had a population of 11,317 in the 2020 census, living in 4,392 households, up slightly from 11,116 in 2010 and 10,266 in 2000.

The borough covers 9.32 square miles, of which about 13.5 percent is water, and its median age in 2020 was 45.9 years, with 23.9 percent of residents aged 65 or older.

Wanaque contains two distinct communities with their own post offices and ZIP codes: Wanaque itself (formerly Midvale, ZIP 07465) and Haskell (ZIP 07420), along with localities such as Lake Inez, Ramapo Lake and Stephens Lake.

The Wanaque Reservoir, created in 1928 by construction of the Raymond Dam on the Wanaque River, covers 2,310 acres, holds about 29.6 billion gallons, and is the second-largest reservoir in New Jersey by volume, supplying water to municipalities including Newark, Paterson, Clifton, Bloomfield, Kearny, Montclair and Passaic.

Back Beach Park in Haskell is a 27-acre recreational park with sports fields and hiking trails, including the Wanaque Ridge trail overlooking the borough and the Indian Hills Trail, which connects to the Ramapo Valley County Reservation in Mahwah.

Lakeland Regional High School, located on Conklintown Road in Wanaque and opened in September 1958, is the only school in its district and serves high school students from both Wanaque and Ringwood.

Wanaque borders Bloomingdale, Pompton Lakes and Ringwood in Passaic County and Oakland in Bergen County, along the foothills of the Ramapo Mountains in northern New Jersey.