Sauquoit Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed August 31, 2015

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States. It lies within the southern part of Oneida County. The creek flows eastward, then turns sharply and flows generally northward through the Sauquoit Valley to the

Mohawk River The Mohawk River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 river in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson R ...

, entering the river on the east side of Whitesboro. It is therefore part of the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

watershed.

History

The word Sauquoit is a form of spelling of the Oneida word ''Sa-da-quoit'', which means "smooth pebbles in a stream". The first cotton mills in the area were located on the Sauquoit at New York Mills in 1804.

Hydrology

The

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

(USGS) maintains a

stream gauge A stream gauge, streamgage or stream gauging station is a location used by hydrologists or environmental scientists to monitor and test terrestrial bodies of water. Hydrometric measurements of water level surface elevation (" stage") and/or v ...

on the creek upstream from the mouth and upstream from NY 5A. The station has been in operation since September 2014. The station had a maximum discharge of and a gauge height of on October 31, 2019. It had minimum discharge of per second on many days in September 2018 and a minimum gauge height of on August 10, 2016.

Flooding

Flooding is common in the portion of Whitesboro along the creek, often causing road closures. One of the most impactful floods occurred on the night of

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

2019, when residents were evacuated and houses were destroyed. A FEMA

buyout In finance, a buyout is an investment transaction by which the ownership equity, or a controlling interest of a company, or a majority share of the capital stock of the company is acquired. The acquirer thereby "buys out" the present equity holde ...

is being pursued by the village of Whitesboro.

Fishing

Sauquoit Creek offers trout fishing along of Public Fishing Rights

easements An easement is a nonpossessory right to use or enter onto the real property of another without possessing it. It is "best typified in the right of way which one landowner, A, may enjoy over the land of another, B". An easement is a property rig ...

. The stream is stocked annually approximately 6,000 yearling

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a species of salmonid ray-finned fish and the most widely distributed species of the genus ''Salmo'', endemic to most of Europe, West Asia and parts of North Africa, and has been widely introduced globally ...

, in addition to 330 two-year-old fish. Wild brown and

brook trout The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada. Two ecological forms of brook trout h ...

are found in the stream's headwaters.

Management

The creek is managed by Sauquoit Creek Basin Intermunicipal Commission (SCBIC). They are responsible for managing issues related watershed management, flooding, and stormwater along Sauquoit Creek.

Communities along the creek

* Clayville * Sauquoit * Chadwicks * Washington Mills * New Hartford * New York Mills * Whitesboro

References

{{authority control Rivers of New York (state) Mohawk River Rivers of Oneida County, New York