Cedar Grove Officials Warn About ‘Devil’s Hole’: Sewage Runoff, Deadly History

CEDAR GROVE, NJ — To some, taking a plunge into “Devil’s Hole” is a rite of passage in North Jersey. But you’d be better off finding ways to make memories which don’t involve potentially swallowing sewage water or risking your life, others advise.

The swimming hole – a deep pool at the bottom of a waterfall near Pompton Avenue and Bowden Road in Cedar Grove - is fed by the Peckman River, a tributary of the Passaic River which winds through Essex and Passaic counties and has a long history with runoff from nearby wastewater treatment plants.

It’s also the place where a Newark teen died in 2014 after a tragic jump into the swimming hole, which has surprisingly swift currents and is lined with rocks underneath the surface.

• See related article: Newark Teen Dies After Jumping Into Devil's Hole in Cedar Grove

These are two reasons that Cedar Grove town officials are partaking in a renewed push to warn locals – as well as visiting thrill-seekers – that Devil’s Hole is deserving of its infamous moniker.

During a recent Cedar Grove Town Council meeting, Township Manager Thomas Tucci said that the “attractive nuisance” draws teens and young adults from all over North Jersey, despite the fact that local cops patrol the area seven times a day.

Social media hasn’t helped the situation, Tucci said.

There are no fences or signs prohibiting swimming because an insurance company previously advised that doing so would create more of a liability issue than not having them, Tucci said.

That’s part of the reason why the council needs to give an old ordinance that regulated Devil’s Hole some new teeth, spelling out that swimming is “absolutely prohibited,” Tucci said.

“It's just not safe,” Tucci said. “People can visit, but we can't have people swimming.”

During the meeting, Tucci also reminded people that the swimming hole may also possibly contain runoff from the nearby Cedar Grove and Verona sewage treatment plants.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Peckman River has “diurnal fluctuations at low flow due to patterns of sewage effluent entering river upstream.”

The agency adds that its data – taken from a location in Little Falls upstream of bridge on Francisco Avenue - was influenced by “temporary fluctuations due to the Cedar Grove Wastewater Treatment plant just upstream of their gauge.

The Cedar Grove Council plans to take the revamped ordinance under consideration at an upcoming meeting in September. But will a bunch of signs and a sternly worded town resolution be enough to stop the swimming at Devil’s Hole?

It’s not hard to access the area, which is located along the West Essex Trail. And once visitors are standing next to the pool, there is nothing that prevents them from jumping in the water.

During the Aug. 14 meeting, a local resident said that he recently saw dozens of cars parked along the nearby Little Falls Road.

“It’s a rite of passage to go to Devil’s Hole, usually in your preteens,” a Cedar Grove resident told News 12 New Jersey.

“Social media has destroyed it, you know?” another resident told CBS New York. “One guy puts a video jumping… All of a sudden, you’ve got gangs of people coming out of nowhere.”

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