In early 1966, it was determined by the Carlstadt Mayor and Council that a definite and immediate program aimed at providing sanitary sewers for the predominantly industrial area located east of Berry's Creek was a necessity. A series of studies encompassing engineering, financing, and other significantly related matters was undertaken by an eight man, bi-partisan sewerage advisory group appointed by the Mayor and Council. The result was the creation of a master plan for the construction of a multi-staged sewerage system.

This action preceded the State takeover of the meadowlands, thus preserving Carlstadt's control of waste water in the 2,000 acres comprising the area while complying with rules and regulations of both state and federal agencies.

The Mayor, Council, and the Sewerage Advisory Group devoted many hours and visited a number of public officials of other communities in order to arrive at the best possible way to administer, finance, and construct a system of sewers in this area. The result was the formation of The Carlstadt Sewerage Authority, a body composed of Carlstadt citizens, appointed by the Carlstadt Council under New Jersey Public Law RS40:14A-1 et.seq. and dedicated to building and maintaining an efficient, financially feasible, and modern sewerage system for the Carlstadt meadowlands.

The Carlstadt Sewerage Authority was founded in 1967 and has continued to be a role model in the battle against waste water contamination in southern Bergen County.

The first pumping station constructed by the authority was built at Jony Drive in the Gotham Industrial Park where it is still located today. The following year saw the construction of the main pumping station located at Barell Avenue. It is the heart of the system. The Barell Avenue station pumps upwards of six million gallons of sewerage daily to the Bergen County Sewerage Authority. No sewerage is treated in Carlstadt. Without the Barell Avenue. station, development of this 650 acre strip of the meadowlands would not have been possible.

Currently, the system consists of thirteen miles of gravity fed sewers and two miles of force mains bounded by Berry's Creek easterly to the waters edge and from the Paterson Plank Road North to the Borough boundary.