Ken Lockwood Gorge © Anita363/ Flickr

HEADWATERS are the small swales, creeks and streams that are the origins of larger streams and rivers.  Every river begins somewhere… and that somewhere is the network of little streams that blanket the landscape as they merge and flow downstream, becoming a river system.  Here in New Jersey, the Raritan River is formed by the convergence of the North and South Branches in Branchburg.  The headwaters that form these two Branches, and the mighty Raritan itself, are fed from countless unnamed tributaries upstream in Hunterdon, Somerset and Morris Counties.

Together the Upper Raritan and South Branch Watersheds:

Raritan River Headwaters Map

• Total 470 square miles
• Are home to approximately 400,000 people
• Comprise the Headwaters of the Raritan Basin, the largest basin entirely within New Jersey
• Encompass 3 counties: Hunterdon, Morris, & Somerset
• Contain all or parts of 39 municipalities
• Make up NJDEP designated Upper Raritan Watershed Mgt. Area 8 (WMA8)
• Provide clean drinking water to more than one million citizens beyond our region into New Jersey’s urban areas
• Contribute to the Highlands Water Supply, which serves more than half the state’s population.