In the late 1920s, the U.S. government began allocating funds for road construction in U.S. national forests. This led to hundreds of thousands of culverts being built and installed across the country for the purpose of moving water quickly and efficiently underneath the roadways to prevent flooding, minimize erosion, and provide pathways for stormwater.

However, culverts have had an unintended and significant consequence: they block the migration routes of some fish and aquatic organisms.

Culverts that are undersized, improperly placed, or designed with smooth featureless surfaces can impede or totally block fish and aquatic species from passing. Culverts with extremely high velocity flows make it incredibly difficult for aquatic organisms to navigate upstream, and extremely low velocity flows make it hard for fish to pass in either direction. The high-velocity flows can erode the stream channel immediately downstream of the culvert, which can leave the culvert pipe perched. This elevation above the water channel makes it impossible for organisms to pass through. Debris can also collect in the culvert, not only blocking fish passage, but water as well.

In addition to blocking the upstream passage of fish and other aquatic species, some culverts disrupt the normal stream movements of some macroinvertebrates, which are key components of these stream ecosystems, an important food source to countless species, and play a critical role in the cycling of energy and nutrients throughout stream ecosystems. Disruptions to the movement and dispersal of stream macroinvertebrates can reduce available habitat, lead to genetic isolation of some populations, and cause extirpation of critical species. When populations splinter, it causes a reduction in genetic diversity, which can lead to the spread of more invasive species and many other ecological issues.

[caption id="attachment_12565" align="aligncenter" width="411"]

Diagram created by NOAA Fisheries[/caption]

While culverts serve an important function in road construction and flood prevention, their impact on aquatic organisms must be taken into consideration. Finding solutions that both allow for efficient water flow and enable safe aquatic migration is crucial in preserving the health of our waterways and their ecosystems.

Addressing outdated, unsafe, and obsolete culverts

A shift in the 1980s recognized the importance of redesigning road-stream crossings for several reasons, including restoring aquatic organism passage and maintaining flood resilience. Between 2008 and 2015, U.S. Forest Service (USFS) partnered with more than 200 organizations in the Legacy Roads and Trails Program to replace 1,000+ culverts across the country. The aim of the program was to upgrade culverts to emulate natural streams and to allow fish and wildlife to pass more naturally both upstream and downstream.

Replacing culverts with structures that better facilitate the movement of both water and aquatic organisms has benefits beyond restoring critical ecosystems and improving biodiversity. Ecological restoration creates jobs, stimulates outdoor recreation and local economic activity, and generates long-term economic value.

Princeton Hydro has a strong history in designing connectivity-friendly road-stream crossings and restoring/replacing outdated culverts. Our team of engineers and scientists has been directly involved with hundreds of stream and ecosystem restoration projects throughout the Northeast.

For several years, Princeton Hydro has partnered with NY-NJ Harbor & Estuary Program (HEP) to plan and design for aquatic connectivity through climate-ready infrastructure. Created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) at the request of the governors of New York and New Jersey, HEP develops and implements plans that protect, conserve and restore the estuary, and aquatic connectivity is a key focus area for HEP and its partners.

Most recently, HEP partnered with Princeton Hydro to address hydraulic capacity issues at priority road-stream crossings in New Jersey’s South River and Lower Raritan River watersheds. The Princeton Hydro team developed a 30% engineering plan for a priority road-stream crossing – the Birch Street crossing over the Iresick Brook in Old Bridge, NJ.

Iresick Brook Culvert Restoration

Iresick Brook is upstream from Duhernal Lake, located at the end of the free-flowing South River, which feeds into the Raritan River, and ultimately flows into Raritan Bay. Duhernal Lake is dammed at the outlet so there is little to no connectivity downstream from the Iresick Brook sub-watershed. The watershed is highly dendritic (meaning the drainage pattern follows a tree-like shape) with many small streams running through it, some of them ephemeral.

The Iresick Brook 5 (IB5) culvert, located in Old Bridge Township, New Jersey, is an undersized double culvert in poor condition with an eroding streambank. This culvert was chosen as a restoration priority primarily due its inadequate sizing (both pipes are only 3-feet in diameter). The outdated infrastructure blocks the passage of fish and other aquatic organisms, and it can only accommodate a 50-year storm event.

Once the IB5 culvert was identified as the priority site, Princeton Hydro completed a site investigation, which included a geomorphic assessment, site observations, and simplified site survey of the channel alignment, profile, and cross sections both upstream and downstream of the culvert.

At the time of the survey, flow was only a couple inches deep in the channel and incredibly slow-moving, especially in the upstream reach. Despite the low flow at the time of the survey, during storm events, the stream experiences extremely high velocities. The undersized culvert creates hydraulic constriction and subsequently a velocity barrier that prevents passage. Additionally, when the high-flow stream water is forced through the small pipes, it creates a firehose effect, which has led to the formation of a 60-foot-long scour hole at the culvert outlet. Substrate from the scour hole has been washed downstream, forming an island of large sand and small gravel.

Approximately 155 feet upstream of the culvert is a channel-spanning v-notch weir comprised of a combination of sheet pile and timber. The weir appears to be a historical stream gauge that is highly degraded and creates an artificially perched channel. The upstream channel also contains woody debris, which gets caught at the culvert, blocking water flow and organism passage.

For the design process, Princeton Hydro used the USFS Stream Simulation Design, an gold-standard ecosystem-based approach for designing and constructing road-stream crossings that provide unimpeded fish and other aquatic organism passage through the structure. The Stream Simulation, a required standard on USFS road projects, integrates fluvial geomorphology concepts and methods with engineering principles to design a road-stream crossing that contains a natural and dynamic channel through the structure so that fish and other aquatic organisms will experience no greater difficulty moving through the structure than if the crossing did not exist.

The design also incorporated utility constraints (gas line, sewer line, drinking water main, and stormwater outlet), a longitudinal profile assessment, channel capacity and slope analysis, and a simplified hydrologic & hydraulic assessment.

Ultimately, Princeton Hydro recommended that HEP replace the existing culvert with a Contech Precast O-321 culvert, or similar alternative. The proposed design increases the culvert opening area and allows for significant increases in flow capacity. This culvert replacement project has the potential to reduce local flood risk and restore aquatic organism passage to the reach of Iresick Brook.

To get a more detailed look at the IB5 culvert project and learn more about HEP and its partnership with Princeton Hydro, click below for a full presentation from Isabelle Stinnette of HEP and Jake Dittes, PE of Princeton Hydro: [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-qbV9EG9Ss[/embed]

Prioritizing Culvert Restoration

Aquatic connectivity is crucial for improving healthy aquatic ecosystems and managing severe storms and flooding. Increases in rainfall due to climate change makes investing in these improvements even more of a growing priority. With so many culverts in place, it can be difficult to know which culvert restoration projects to prioritize.

We worked with HEP to create a toolkit for addressing problematic road-stream crossings. The easy-to-use matrix helps to prioritize potential projects and identify solutions for problem culverts and relative cost solutions.

The toolkit was just recently released to the public with the hope that it will be used as a template to promote the development of more resilient and environmentally-friendly infrastructure.

Click here to get more info and download.

This article, written by Princeton Hydro team members, was recently published in the ANJEC Report, a quarterly magazine published by the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions.

Our lakes in New Jersey are an invaluable resource for clean drinking water, outdoor recreation, and agriculture and provide habitat for aquatic flora and fauna. Home to about 1,700 lakes, the “Garden State” is also the most densely populated state. Excess nutrients from fertilizers, roadway pollutants, overdevelopment, and failing septic systems can end up in our lakes and impair water quality. Larger rain events can also cause erosion and instability of streams, adding to the influx of more excess nutrients to our lakes and ponds. Changes in hydrology, water chemistry, biology, and/or physical properties in these complex ecosystems can have cascading consequences that can alter water quality and the surrounding ecosystem. For example, excess nutrients can fuel algal and plant growth in lakes and lead to issues like harmful algal blooms (HABs) or fish kills.

In order to ensure that we protect the overall health of our local waterbodies, it’s important that we look beyond just the lake itself. Implementing holistic watershed-based planning is a critical step in managing stormwater runoff, preventing the spread of HABs, and maintaining water quality. A watershed management plan defines and addresses existing or future water quality problems from both point sources and nonpoint sources of pollutants*. This approach addresses all the beneficial uses of a waterbody, the criteria needed to protect the use, and the strategies required to restore water quality or prevent degradation. When developing a watershed plan, we review all the tools in the toolbox and recommend a variety of best management practices to prevent nutrients from entering lakes or streams. Options include short- and long-term solutions such as green stormwater infrastructure, stream bank stabilization, and stormwater basin retrofits.

To reduce nutrient availability in lakes, one innovative tool in our toolbox is floating wetland islands (FWIs). FWIs are a low-cost, effective green infrastructure solution that are designed to mimic natural wetlands in a sustainable, efficient, and powerful way. They improve water quality by assimilating and removing excess nutrients; provide valuable ecological habitat for a variety of beneficial species; help mitigate wave and wind erosion impacts; provide an aesthetic element; and add significant biodiversity enhancement within open freshwater environments. FWIs are also highly effective in a range of waterbodies from big to small, from deep to shallow.

[caption id="attachment_4363" align="aligncenter" width="631"] This illustration, created by Staff Scientist Ivy Babson, conveys the functionality of a Floating Wetland Island

This illustration, created by Staff Scientist Ivy Babson, conveys the functionality of a Floating Wetland Island

This illustration, sketched by Princeton Hydro Staff Scientist Ivy Babson, conveys the functionality of a floating wetland island.[/caption]

Typically, FWIs consist of a constructed floating mat, usually composed of woven, recycled plastic material, with vegetation planted directly into the material. The islands are then launched into the lake and anchored in place, and, once established, require very little maintenance.

It estimated that one 250-square-foot FWI has a surface area equal to approximately one acre of natural wetland. These floating ecosystems can remove approximately 10 pounds of phosphorus each year. To put that into perspective, one pound of phosphorus can produce 1,100 pounds of algae each year, so each 250-square-feet of FWI can potentially mitigate up to 11,000 pounds of algae.

In addition to removing phosphorus that can feed nuisance aquatic plant growth and algae, FWIs also provide excellent refuge habitat for beneficial forage fish and can provide protection from shoreline erosion.

Let's take a look at some examples of FWIs in action:

Lake Hopatcong

[gallery columns="2" link="none" ids="11071,10666"]

Princeton Hydro has been working with Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey’s largest Lake, for 30+ years, restoring the lake, managing the watershed, reducing pollutant loading, and addressing invasive aquatic plants and nuisance algal blooms. Back in 2012, Lake Hopatcong became the first public lake in New Jersey to install FWIs. In the summer of 2022, nine more FWIs were installed in the lake with help from staff and volunteers from the Lake Hopatcong Foundation, Lake Hopatcong Commission, and Princeton Hydro. The lake’s Landing Channel and Ashley Cove were chosen for the installations because they are both fairly shallow and prone to weed growth. The installation of these floating wetland islands is part of a series of water quality initiatives on Lake Hopatcong funded by a NJDEP Harmful Algal Bloom Grant and 319(h) Grant awarded to Lake Hopatcong Commission and Lake Hopatcong Foundation.

Greenwood Lake

Princeton Hydro partnered with the Greenwood Lake Commission (GWLC) on a FWI installation in Belcher's Creek, the main tributary of Greenwood Lake. The lake, a 1,920-acre waterbody located in both New Jersey and New York, is a highly valued ecological, economical, and recreational resource. The lake also serves as a headwater supply of potable water that flows to the Monksville Reservoir and eventually into the Wanaque Reservoir, where it supplies over 3 million people with drinking water.

The goal of the FWI Installation was to help decrease total phosphorus loading, improve water quality, and create important habitat for beneficial aquatic, insect, bird, and wildlife species. The project was partially funded by the NJDEP Water Quality Restoration Grants for Nonpoint Source Pollution Program under Section 319(h) of the federal Clean Water Act. GWLC was awarded one of NJDEP’s matching grants, which provided $2 in funding for every $1 invested by the grant applicant.

Harveys Lake

Measuring 630+ acres, Harveys Lake is the largest natural lake (by volume) in Pennsylvania and is one of the most heavily used lakes in the area. It is classified as a high quality - cold water fishery habitat (HQ-CWF) and is designated for protection under the classification. Since 2002, The Borough of Harveys Lake and Harveys Lake Environmental Advisory Council has worked with Princeton Hydro on a variety of lake management efforts focused around maintaining high water quality conditions, strengthening stream banks and shorelines, and managing stormwater runoff. Five floating wetland islands were installed in Harveys Lake to assimilate and reduce nutrients already in the lake. The islands were placed in areas with high concentrations of nutrients, placed 50 feet from the shoreline and tethered in place with steel cables and anchored. The FWIs were funded by PADEP.

Wesley Lake and Sunset Lake

Working with the Deal Lake Commission (DLC), Princeton Hydro designed and installed 12 floating wetland islands at two lakes in Asbury Park, NJ. In order to complete the installation of the floating wetland islands, our team worked with the DLC to train and assist over 30 volunteers to plant plugs in the islands and launch them into the two lakes. Our experts helped disseminate knowledge to the volunteers, not only about how to install the floating wetland islands, but how they scientifically worked to remove excess nutrients from the water. With assistance from Princeton Hydro, DLC acquired the 12 floating islands – six for Wesley Lake and six for Sunset Lake – through a Clean Water Act Section 319(h) grant awarded by NJDEP.

In addition to the direct environmental benefits of FWIs, the planting events themselves, which usually involve individuals from the local lake communities, have long-lasting positive impacts. When community members come together to help plant FWIs, it gives them a deepened sense of ownership and strengthens their connection to the lake. This, in turn, encourages continued stewardship of the watershed and creates a broader awareness of how human behaviors impact the lake and its water quality. And, real water quality improvements begin at the watershed level with how people treat their land.

For more information on watershed planning or installing FWI in your community, click here to contact us. To learn more about ANJEC, go here.

- *U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2008. Handbook for Developing Watershed Plans to Restore and Protect Our Waters.

[post_title] => Floating Wetland Islands: A Sustainable, Affordable, Effective Lake Management Solution [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => floating-wetland-islands-anjec-2023 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2023-04-25 12:36:43 [post_modified_gmt] => 2023-04-25 12:36:43 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://princetonhydro.com/?p=12609 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [2] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 11482 [post_author] => 1 [post_date] => 2022-11-01 20:00:26 [post_date_gmt] => 2022-11-01 20:00:26 [post_content] =>

The Lake Champlain Basin encompasses 8,000 square miles of mountains, forests, farmlands, and communities with 11 major tributaries that drain into Lake Champlain, ranging from 20 miles to 102 miles in stream length. The Vermont and New York portions of the Lake Champlain basin are home to about 500,000 people, with another 100,000 people in the Canadian portions of the watershed. At least 35% of the population relies on Lake Champlain for drinking water.

The Threat of Aquatic Invasive Species

The Lake Champlain basin is threatened by a large number of non-native aquatic invasive plant and animal species and pathogens. The Champlain Canal, a 60-mile canal in New York that connects the Hudson River to the south end of Lake Champlain has been identified by natural resources scientists and managers as a major pathway by which non-native and invasive species can invade Lake Champlain.

Aquatic invasive species that are present in the surrounding Great Lakes, Erie Canal, and Hudson River (e.g. hydrilla, round goby, Asian clam, quagga mussel, Asian carp, and snakehead) are a threat to Lake Champlain.

Once these harmful aquatic invasive species enter the lake and become established, they compete with and displace native species, severely impacting water quality, the lake ecosystem and the local economy. Infestations of these non-native invasive organisms cost citizens and governments in New York, Vermont, and Quebec millions of dollars each year to control and manage.

Aquatic invasive species (AIS) infestations reduce the recreational and economic health of communities in the Basin by choking waterways, blocking water intake pipes, outcompeting native species, lowering property values, encrusting historic shipwrecks, and ruining beaches. Additionally, they are known to decrease biodiversity and change the structure and function of ecosystems by displacing native species, transporting pathogens, and threatening fisheries, public health, and local or even regional economies.

Studying Viable Alternatives to Prevent the Transfer of Invasive Species

A study of the Champlain Canal was completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District, in partnership with the Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP), New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), and New York State Canal Corporation (NYSCC), the non-Federal sponsor, New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC), HDR Inc, and Princeton Hydro. The main purpose of the "Champlain Canal Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Barrier Phase 1 Study" was to compare the costs, benefits, and effectiveness of different management alternatives that could best prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species between the Hudson and Champlain drainages via the Champlain Canal.

The primary focus of this study was located at the summit canal between locks C-8 and C-9, as this location is the natural point of separation for the watersheds. This is where (the summit) the Glens Falls Feeder Canal supplies Hudson River water to the height of the Champlain Canal to maintain water levels for navigability that flows south back to the Hudson, but also north and into the Champlain drainage.

The scope of the study included analyzing alternatives for a dispersal barrier on the Champlain Canal and evaluating options to prevent the spread of AIS, including fish, plants, plankton, invertebrates, and pathogens. The study examined potential physical and mechanical modifications to separate the two basins to prevent movement of aquatic nonnative and invasive species between the Hudson River and Lake Champlain. Physically and mechanically modifying the canal was evaluated to be the most effective at reducing the inter-basin transfer of invasives that might swim, float, or be entrained through the system, and it was found to be the most effective protection against all taxa of aquatic nonnative and invasive species.

Princeton Hydro’s main role was the initial administration of the project and development of a species inventory. This species inventory of the Champlain Canal included native and non-native aquatic species and potential aquatic invasive species that are threatening to become invasive to the Canal. Dispersal methods of the species were also evaluated to inform an Alternative Analysis. The overall study includes a Cost Benefit Analysis and Final Recommendations report of the Alternatives.

Plan Formulation and Evaluation of the Prevention Alternatives

The project team utilized a standard, three-step approach for developing alternatives: 1) gather general information about measures that may contribute to a solution to the problem, 2) narrow the list of measures through application of project-specific constraints, and 3) develop alternatives by combining measures that reduce or eliminate the cross-basin transfer of invasive species.

The alternative to construct a physical barrier across the canal was identified as the most effective approach to limiting the transfer of non-native AIS, and would address all taxa – plants, animals, plankton, viruses and pathogens. This alternative would include the installation and management of a large boat lift, a boat access ramp, a boat cleaning station, and repairs to the existing lock seals.

[caption id="attachment_11496" align="aligncenter" width="801"]

Truss Bridge over Glen Falls Feeder Canal at Lock 8 Way[/caption]

At the Glens Falls Feeder Canal cleaning station and boat lift area, small and large boats would be cleaned prior to being placed back in the water on the other side, and the wash water would be captured and stored to be sent to a treatment plant. This alternative provides the most effective protection from AIS crossing between the Hudson River and Lake Champlain Watersheds, but it does remove the possibility of large commercial barges traveling the full length of the canal. A larger loading/offloading and cleaning facility would be required for commercial shipping vessels to be granted continued access along the canal.

The Champlain Canal Barrier Study (Phase I) Final Report and Appendices can be viewed in full on the New York District webpage.

Moving Forward Towards a Healthier Ecosystem

In a press release from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announcing the completion of the Phase I Study, Colonel Matthew Luzzatto, Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District was quoted as saying, “This is an important milestone in moving forward towards a more healthy ecosystem for the Lake Champlain and Hudson River Watersheds. These two watersheds are vital to the lives and wellbeing of millions of residents of New York and Vermont. This study will have a positive impact on the overall economic and ecological health of the Lake Champlain Region, this is a win-win-win for all interested parties."

Following the completion of the Phase I portion of the study, the Phase II portion of the study will consist of detailed analyses of alternatives including engineering studies such as hydrologic evaluation for stream capacities / canal makeup water, geotechnical investigations at the location of the proposed concrete berm, topographic / utility survey as well as boundary / easement survey, vessel traffic studies through the canal, detailed cost estimates, and NEPA compliance. Once Phase II is complete and funding is appropriated, the Canal Barrier Project will be closer to construction.

[gallery link="none" columns="2" ids="10447,11497"]

Stay tuned for updates!

[post_title] => Preventing the Transfer of Invasive Species via the Champlain Canal [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => champlain-canal-invasive-species-barrier [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2022-11-04 21:17:40 [post_modified_gmt] => 2022-11-04 21:17:40 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://princetonhydro.com/?p=11482 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [3] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 11554 [post_author] => 1 [post_date] => 2022-10-29 16:06:00 [post_date_gmt] => 2022-10-29 16:06:00 [post_content] =>

Ecological restoration work is underway in the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which is celebrated as America's First Urban Refuge. Friends of Heinz Refuge hired Princeton Hydro and teammates Enviroscapes and Merestone Consultants to provide engineering design, environmental compliance, engineering oversight, and construction implementation to enhance and restore aquatic, wetland, and riparian habitats and adjacent uplands within the Turkey Foot area of the Refuge.

About the Refuge

The Turkey Foot project area is an approximately 7.5-acre site within the greater 1,200-acre John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, which is located within the City of Philadelphia and neighboring Tinicum Township in Philadelphia and Delaware Counties, about one-half mile north of Philadelphia International Airport.

The Refuge protects approximately 200 acres of the last remaining freshwater tidal marsh in Pennsylvania and represents an important migratory stopover along the Atlantic Flyway, a major north-south flyway for migratory birds in North America. It also provides protected breeding habitat for State-listed threatened and endangered species, as well as many neotropical migrants, such as the American Bittern, Least Bittern, Black-crowned Night-heron, King Rail, Great Egret, Yellow-crowned Night-heron, and Sedge Wren.

[caption id="attachment_11775" align="aligncenter" width="732"]

Photo of a Least Bittern taken in the Refuge by Princeton Hydro Vice President Mark Gallagher[/caption]

The Refuge was established for the purposes of preserving, restoring, and developing the natural area known as Tinicum Marsh, as well as to provide an environmental education center for its visitors. The Refuge contains a variety of ecosystems unique in Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia metropolitan area, including tidal and non-tidal freshwater marshes, freshwater tidal creeks, open impoundment waters, coastal plain forests, and early successional grasslands. Although many of the Refuge’s ecosystems have been degraded, damaged, or, in some cases, destroyed as a result of numerous historic impacts dating back to the mid-17th century, many of these impacted ecosystems have the potential to be restored or enhanced through various management and restoration efforts.

Turkey Foot Ecological Restoration Project

The Turkey Foot project area is an example of one of the historically impacted ecosystems at the Refuge with tremendous opportunity for ecological restoration. The Friends of Heinz Refuge and the project team are working to restore and enhance the aquatic habitats, wetlands, riparian buffers, and adjacent uplands within the project area.

The approach for the restoration project focuses on creating approximately four acres of contiguous wetland habitat bordered by a functional riparian buffer. The design includes the creation of three habitat zones: intertidal marsh, high marsh, and upland grassland.

[caption id="attachment_11774" align="aligncenter" width="1072"]

Illustration of the Turkey Foot Conceptual Design identifying the three proposed habitat areas and the project area.
Conceptual Design created by Princeton Hydro.[/caption]

Incorporating the three elements into the landscape will help to establish foraging, breeding, and nesting habitat for critical wildlife species, including Eastern Black Rail, a threatened species listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

The project work also includes a robust invasive species management plan, aimed at removing close to 100% of the invasive species, supported by an adaptive management monitoring program that will guide the development of the restored site towards the ultimate goal of establishing a diverse and productive coastal ecosystem within the Turkey Foot project area.

The upland slopes of the high marsh were seeded earlier this year, which will help to establish a grassland dominated by native warm season grasses. Native shrubs and flowering plants were also installed, including little bluestem, switchgrass, Virginia wild rye, asters, goldenrods, and bergamot. And, coastal panic grass was seeded, which is another Pennsylvania-listed endangered species, and, once grown-in, will provide suitable stopover foraging and cover for migratory land birds and pollinators.

The team also completed site grading to increase tidal flushing within the Turkey Foot’s two ponds, create intertidal and high marsh wetlands, prevent stagnant water and nutrient accumulation in bottom sediments, and reduce the reestablishment of invasive species. The bottom of the existing ponds were raised to elevations that support the establishment of intertidal marsh. The pond banks were then regraded to create the appropriate elevations for freshwater intertidal marsh and high marsh. Additionally, the tidally influenced connection points between the two ponds and the linear channel were enlarged.

Refuge Manager Lamar Gore recently visited the Turkey Foot project site and interviewed Deputy Refuge Manager, Mariana Bergerson, and Princeton Hydro Director of Restoration and Resilience, Christiana Pollack, about the progress made thus far and what's to come. Watch now:

Upcoming Restoration Activities

In Spring of 2023, the team will install a wide variety of native wetland plant species plugs and continue its work to restore the riparian buffer habitats within the Turkey Foot project area. The high marsh will be planted with a mix of native coastal plain wetland species, including fine-stemmed emergent plants, primarily rushes and grasses, with high stem densities and dense canopy cover, using species such as chairmaker's bulrush, river bulrush, blue flag, and rice cutgrass. The installation of river bulrush, a Pennsylvania-listed rare species, will provide beneficial wildlife habitat and serve to expand the range of this species in Pennsylvania. Additionally, restoring the high marsh will create the foundation for establishing Black Rail habitat and giving the threatened species protection from predators and opportunities to glean insects and other invertebrates from the ground and water.

The restoration and enhancement of riparian buffer habitats will reduce sedimentation and lower pond temperatures, improving water quality for native fish and invertebrates. Riparian buffers also filter nutrients in runoff and deter eutrophication of the ponds, and provide high quality food sources for native and migratory species, unlike the invasive species which provide low nutrient value foods.

[gallery link="none" ids="11773,11772,11770"]

Please stay tuned to our blog for more project updates once the plantings have been completed in the Spring, as well as before and after photos once the plants are established. To read more about Princeton Hydro's robust natural resource management and restoration services, click here.

[post_title] => Ecological Restoration in John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => ecological-restoration-in-john-heinz-national-wildlife-refuge [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2022-11-01 15:35:56 [post_modified_gmt] => 2022-11-01 15:35:56 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://princetonhydro.com/?p=11554 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [4] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 11506 [post_author] => 1 [post_date] => 2022-09-27 19:04:51 [post_date_gmt] => 2022-09-27 19:04:51 [post_content] =>

The Lion’s Gate Park and Urban Wetland Floodplain Creation Project has been chosen as a winner of the New Jersey Future “Smart Growth Awards” for 2022. The project transformed a densely developed, flood-prone, industrial site into a thriving public active recreation park with 4.2 acres of wetlands.

As stated in the New Jersey Future award announcement, “The park is representative of smart growth values, with walkable trails in the middle of a residential area, a regenerated protected wetland which helps to mitigate flooding from storms like Hurricane Ida, and mixed-use opportunities for recreation. The dual roles of Lion Gate Park as both a source of resilience and recreation demonstrate a model of land use and planning that values the accessibility of public spaces while acknowledging and addressing the urgent need to adapt to the growing impacts of climate change in New Jersey.”

The restoration project site is located in Bloomfield Township and includes 1,360 feet along the east bank of the Third River and 3,040 feet along the banks of the Spring Brook. These waterways are freshwater tributaries of the Passaic River and share a history of flooding above the site’s 100-year floodplain. The Third River, like many urban streams, tends to be the victim of excessive volume and is subjected to erosion and chronic, uncontrolled flooding.

By removing a little over four acres of upland historic fill in this density developed area and restoring the natural floodplain connection, we significantly improved the land’s ecological value; enhanced the aquatic and wildlife habitat; increased flood storage capacity for urban stormwater runoff; replaced invasive plant species with thriving native wetland and riparian plant communities; and provided outdoor recreation accessibility to Bloomfield Township.

[gallery columns="2" link="none" ids="4704,9172"]

The Lion Gate Park project is the culmination of nearly two decades of collaborative work. The primary project team includes the Township of Bloomfield, NY/NJ Baykeeper, Bloomfield Third River Association, CME Associates, PPD Design, GK+A Architects, Enviroscapes, Strauss and Associates/Planners, and Princeton Hydro. The project recieved $1.76 million in funding from the New Jersey Freshwater Wetlands Mitigation Council and another several million dollars from NJDEP’s Office of Natural Resource Restoration.

Princeton Hydro served as the ecological engineer to Bloomfield Township. Our scientists and engineers assisted in obtaining grants, collected background ecological data through field sampling and surveying, created a water budget, completed all necessary permitting, designed both the conceptual and final restoration plans, and conducted construction oversight throughout the project. Enviroscapes and Princeton Hydro are currently monitoring the site on behalf of the Township.

[gallery link="none" columns="2" ids="4710,9319"]

“Local residents are already benefiting from this floodplain creation project. During Tropical Storm Ida, the area held significant flood waters,” said Mark Gallagher, Vice President of Princeton Hydro. “This restoration project really exemplifies how a diverse group of public and private entities can work together to prioritize urban and underserved areas to mitigate flooding and create new open space. We’re honored to be recognized by NJ Future and selected as a winner of this important award.”

[gallery link="none" columns="2" ids="9318,9294"]

Since 2002, New Jersey Future has honored smart planning and redevelopment in New Jersey through its "Smart Growth Awards." The projects and plans chosen each year represent some of the best examples of sustainable growth and redevelopment in the state. For a complete list of 2022 Award Winners, click here. For more info on New Jersey Future, click here.

To learn more about the Bloomfield restoration project and see drone images of it all coming together, click below: [visual-link-preview encoded="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"] [post_title] => Bloomfield's Lion’s Gate Park Restoration Wins 2022 Smart Growth Award [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => lion-gate-park-wins-smart-growth-award [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2022-11-07 16:41:26 [post_modified_gmt] => 2022-11-07 16:41:26 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://princetonhydro.com/?p=11506 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [5] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 11289 [post_author] => 1 [post_date] => 2022-08-26 19:06:38 [post_date_gmt] => 2022-08-26 19:06:38 [post_content] =>

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) launched a Youth Inclusion Initiative to help the State of New Jersey develop the next generation of environmental protection, conservation and stewardship leaders while also providing an avenue for young adults from open space-constrained communities to engage with nature as they provide valuable stewardship services to the public through jobs at NJDEP.

This year, the youth inclusion program is partnering with Groundwork Elizabeth, Rutgers University Camden, and Newark’s Ironbound Community Corporation to create a workforce development curriculum for people ages 17 to 24. Groundwork Elizabeth sent 12 participants to this year’s program, and Rutgers Camden and the Ironbound Community Corporation each sent 10.

[caption id="attachment_11299" align="aligncenter" width="771"]

Photo by NJDEP[/caption]

The curriculum provides career education in the environmental protection field and helps the young participants develop the skills necessary to pursue those career paths in New Jersey. Participants learn through classroom instruction and by working across sectors regulated by the NJDEP, including water resources, air quality, energy and sustainability, public lands management, and wildlife.

Susan Lockwood of NJDEP’s Division of Land Resource Protection’s Mitigation Unit reached out to Princeton Hydro to showcase ecosystem restoration and mitigation efforts across the state as well as discuss the variety of career roles that make these projects possible. Our portion of the curriculum entailed each group of students visiting two sites to learn about the benefits of restoring a landscape with native vegetation. Our discussion explored different fields of work related to urban environmental restoration and water resource protection and the job responsibilities of environmental scientists, water resource engineers, geologists, ecologists, pesticide applicators, and regulatory compliance specialists.

The Abbott Marshlands in Trenton, New Jersey

[gallery link="none" ids="11287,11288,11281"]

After a quick stop at NJDEP’s office in Trenton to learn about NJ invasive species, all three groups popped over to the Tulpehaking Nature Center in Mercer County’s John A. Roebling Park to see the restoration site in the Abbott Marshlands. The 3,000-acre Abbott Marshlands is the northernmost freshwater tidal marsh on the Delaware River and contains valuable habitat for many rare species like River Otter, American Eel, Bald Eagle, and various species of wading birds. Unfortunately, the area has experienced a significant amount of loss and degradation, partially due to the introduction of the invasive Common Reed (Phragmites australis). For Mercer County Park Commission, Princeton Hydro implemented a restoration plan to remove Common Reed and expose the native seed bank in 40-acres of the marsh to increase biodiversity, improve recreational opportunities, and enhance visitor experience. Students learned how to tell the difference between the invasive Common Reed vs. native Wild Rice (Zizania palustris L.). They utilized tools of the trade like field guides and binoculars to identify flora and fauna in the marsh. Learn more about this project.

Mullica River Wetland Mitigation Site in Evesham, New Jersey

[gallery link="none" ids="11343,11342,11282"]

After visiting the Roebling site, students from Camden traveled down to Evesham Township in Burlington County to visit the Mullica River Wetland Mitigation Site. For this project, Princeton Hydro worked with GreenVest, LLC to restore a highly degraded 34-acre parcel of land which was previously used for cranberry cultivation. Through the implementation of restoration activities focused on removing the site’s agricultural infrastructure, Princeton Hydro and GreenVest were able to restore a natural wetland system on the site and over 1,600 linear feet of stream, providing forested, scrub-shrub, and emergent wetlands, forested uplands, headwater stream and riparian buffer, and critical wildlife habitat. The project also significantly uplifted threatened and endangered species habitats including Timber Rattlesnake.

Susan Lockwood of NJDEP, Owen McEnroe of GreenVest, and Dana Patterson of Princeton Hydro, lead the group of 10 students. They learned the difference between restoration and mitigation and got to experience the remoteness of Pinelands habitat. Walking through the site, we shared how the dam and dike removal helped to restore the river back to its natural free-flowing state and the numerous resulting environmental benefits.The site was chosen for the Camden students in order to demonstrate that successful mitigation and restoration projects happen throughout the State and not far from urban centers like Camden. Learn more about this project.

3. Third River Floodplain Wetland Enhancement Project in Bloomfield, New Jersey

[gallery link="none" ids="11344,11279,11277"]

After visiting the Roebling site, students from Newark and Elizabeth trekked up to Essex County to visit an urban wetland creation project now known as Lion Gate Park. The once densely developed, abandoned Scientific Glass Factory in Bloomfield Township was transformed into a thriving public park with 4.2 acres of wetlands. Students heard the story of how this project came to be; decades of advocacy and litigation by community members and environmental nonprofits to stop redevelopment of the site into 148 townhomes. Bloomfield Township eventually secured the property to preserve as open space through a range of grants from NJDEP. Serving as the ecological engineer to Bloomfield Township, Princeton Hydro designed, permitted, and oversaw construction for the restoration project and is currently monitoring the site. The restoration work brought back to the land valuable ecological functions and natural floodplain connection, enhanced aquatic and wildlife habitat, and increased flood storage capacity for urban stormwater runoff. Learn more about this project.

The NJDEP Youth Inclusion Initiative began on July 5 with a week of orientation classes, and continued through August with classroom and in-field learning. The initiative culminates on August 26 with a graduation and NJDEP Career Day, during which students will have the opportunity to meet with and discuss career options with various organizations tabling at the event, including Princeton Hydro.

Click here to learn more about the NJDEP education program. If you’re interested in learning more about Princeton Hydro’s ecological restoration services, click here.

[post_title] => Students from NJDEP's Youth Inclusion Initiative Tour Restored Landscapes with Princeton Hydro [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => njdep-youth-inclusion-initiative [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2022-08-26 19:13:55 [post_modified_gmt] => 2022-08-26 19:13:55 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://princetonhydro.com/?p=11289 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [6] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 10630 [post_author] => 1 [post_date] => 2022-05-06 12:15:24 [post_date_gmt] => 2022-05-06 12:15:24 [post_content] =>

In October 2021, the largest stream restoration in Maryland was completed. Over 7 miles (41,000 linear feet) of Tinkers Creek and its tributaries were stabilized and restored.

The project was designed by Princeton Hydro for GV-Petro, a partnership between GreenVest and Petro Design Build Group. Working with Prince George’s County Department of the Environment and coordinating with the Maryland-National Capital Parks and Planning Commission, this full-delivery project was designed to meet the County’s Watershed Implementation Plan total maximum daily load (TMDL) requirements and its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Discharge Permit conditions.

Today, we are thrilled to report that the once highly urbanized watershed is flourishing and teeming with life:

[gallery columns="2" size="medium" link="none" ids="10632,10631"]

We used nature-based design and bioengineering techniques like riparian zone planting and live staking to prevent erosion and restore wildlife habitat.

[gallery columns="2" size="medium" ids="10635,10634"]

10,985 native trees and shrubs were planted in the riparian area, and 10,910 trees were planted as live stakes along the streambank.

[gallery columns="2" size="medium" ids="10637,10636"]

For more information about the project visit GreenVest's website and check out our blog:

[post_title] => Revisiting Tinkers Creek Stream Restoration [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => revisiting-tinkers-creek-stream-restoration [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2022-05-06 16:15:35 [post_modified_gmt] => 2022-05-06 16:15:35 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://princetonhydro.com/?p=10630 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [7] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 10290 [post_author] => 1 [post_date] => 2022-02-17 19:39:19 [post_date_gmt] => 2022-02-17 19:39:19 [post_content] =>

The Aquetong Creek Restoration Project is situated within the former basin of Aquetong Lake, which was a 15- acre impoundment formed in 1870 by the construction of an earthen dam on Aquetong Creek. The cold-water limestone spring, which flows at a rate of about 2,000 gallons per minute at approximately 53ºf, is known to be the largest of its kind in the 5-county Philadelphia region, and one of the largest in the state of Pennsylvania.

In 2015, the Township of Solebury commenced the restoration of Aquetong Spring Park, first with a dam breach followed by a large stream restoration, reforestation, and invasive species removal. In September, the park was officially reopened to the public following a ribbon cutting ceremony. The event featured a blessing from the Lenni-Lenape Turtle Clan, the original inhabitants of the land.

SITE HISTORY

Prior to European settlement, the Lenni-Lenape Tribe inhabited a village close to the spring and designated the spring “Aquetong”, meaning “at the spring among the bushes." After an outbreak of smallpox, however, the tribe abandoned the village. William Penn acquired Aquetong Spring in the early 1680’s as part of his peaceful treaty with Lenni-Lenape. The park land transferred hands many times before it was owned by Aquetong Township.

The dependability of the water flow made the Aquetong Creek an ideal location for mills. As of the early 1800’s, Aquetong Spring is known to have supplied enough water to turn two grist mills regularly throughout the year, and to have concurrently powered numerous mills including a paper mill, a fulling mill, two merchant mills, four sawmills, and an oil mill.

Around 1870, the 15-acre Aquetong Lake was created by constructing a dam at the east end of the property. This provided additional power for the local mills and a recreation area for the public. A fish hatchery was constructed at the base of the spring outfall, portions of which can still be viewed today. Shad, brook trout, and terrapin turtles were raised in the hatchery, which was available for public viewing at a cost of 25 cents per person.

Then, in 1993, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission acquired the property. A few years later, with the support of Bucks County Trout Unlimited, Solebury Township began negotiating to obtain ownership of the site. Around 1996, the State performed emergency repairs on the dam; a six-foot section of the outlet structure was removed in order to take pressure off the aging barrier. This lowered the level of the lake and added about 80 feet of wetlands to the western shoreline. However, it was recognized that a complete repair of the dam could cost over $1 million and might not be the best choice for the environment.

In 2009, after almost 15 years of negotiations, Solebury Township gained control of the property, with the goal of preserving this important natural resource. It purchased the lake and surrounding properties from the state and obtained a 25-year lease. The Township’s total costs were substantially reduced because it received a large credit in exchange for its commitment to repair the dam in the future, as well as funding from the Bucks County Natural Areas Program toward the purchase.

Following the purchase, the Township engaged in a five-year process of community outreach and consultation with environmental experts in which it considered alternatives for the Aquetong Lake dam. Choices included rebuilding the dam in its then-current form, creating a smaller lake with a cold-water bypass into Aquetong Creek, or breaching the dam and restoring a free-flowing stream. Ultimately, recognizing that the lake was a thermal reservoir which introduced warm water into Aquetong Creek and eventually into the streams and river, the Township decided to breach rather than restore the dam, and return the site to its natural state.

[caption id="attachment_10303" align="aligncenter" width="832"]

The Aquetong Creek restoration site is located in Solebury Township, Bucks County, PA, and encompasses the boundaries of the former Aquetong Lake. The Lake was a 15-acre impoundment formed in 1870 by the construction of an earthen dam on Aquetong Creek. The Creek flows approximately 2.5 miles from Ingham Spring to join with the Delaware River in New Hope, PA.[/caption]

RESTORATION WORK

The Aquetong Restoration Project got underway in 2015, and Solebury Township breached the historic mill dam in Aquetong Spring Park to convert the former lake into a natural area with a free-flowing, cold water stream capable of supporting native brook trout.

After the dam breach, areas of active erosion were observed along the mainstem and a major tributary of Aquetong Creek. The steep, eroding banks, increased the sediment load to the Creek's sensitive aquatic habitat.

As with most dam removal projects, a degree of stewardship is necessary to enhance the establishment of desirable, beneficial vegetation. Additionally, Solebury Township wanted to control invasive species in Aquetong Spring Park and replant the project area with native species.

The Township secured funding to construct riparian buffers, implement streambank stabilization measures, establish trout habitat structures within the mainstem and its tributary, control invasive species, and implement a woodland restoration plan. The project was funded by a $250,000 grant from the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, with an equal match from the Township. Additional grants for the project were provided by the PA Department of Community and Economic Development and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

Solebury Township contracted Princeton Hydro to design the stabilization of the stream channel and floodplains within the former impoundment, monitor the stream and wetlands before and after implementation, and obtain the permits for the restoration of the former impoundment. Princeton Hydro team members designed the restoration of the main channel and tributary to reduce channel and bank erosion while supporting the brook trout habitat.

After gathering and reviewing the existing data for the site, Princeton Hydro conducted field investigations to inform and guide the final design including surveying cross sections and performing fluvial geomorphological assessments of the existing channel. Pebble counts were performed, cross sections were analyzed, and existing hydrological data was reviewed to inform the design. Simultaneously, an invasive species control and woodland restoration plan was developed for the park.

Data collected from the site was used to develop a geomorphically-appropriate, dynamically-stable design. The proposed channel design included excavation of impounded sediment to create stable channel dimensions, the addition of gravel, cobble, and boulder substrate where original/existing channel substrates were absent or insufficient, and the installation of large wood features to create aquatic habitat and enhance stability of channel bed and banks.

The banks and riparian corridor were vegetated with native seed, shrubs and trees to ultimately create a wooded, shaded riparian buffer. The design ultimately stabilized the streambanks with features that double as trout habitat and replanted the surrounding park with native vegetation.

The project was replanted with an incredibly diverse set of native species that included:

herbaceous species: swamp milkweed, blue mistflower, and butterfly weed;
shrub species: silky dogwood, winterberry holly, and buttonbush; and
tree species: red maple, american hornbeam, and pin oak.

[caption id="attachment_10301" align="aligncenter" width="763"]

The forested restoration area was planted with a wide variety of native tree, herbaceous and shrub species. Shown here from top left: Canada Goldenrod, New England Aster and River Birch[/caption]

EXPANDING THE PROJECT SCOPE

In addition to restoring the stream in the former impoundment, as a part of its Strategic Master Plan for Aquetong Spring Park, Solebury Township expanded its focus of the restoration project to include another 20 acres of forested land.

For this, Solebury developed a Woodland Restoration Plan which identified over 1,000 diseased forest trees, composed mostly of ash (Fraxinus sp.) and black walnut (Juglans nigra). It was the Township’s objective to remove the hazardous trees, re-establish a native woodland community, and establish an invasive species management program.

The trees removed as a part of this effort were repurposed for the stream restoration project and used for habitat features, stream stabilization measures, and park features (i.e. benches).

[caption id="attachment_10295" align="aligncenter" width="749"]

Hazardous trees were removed and repurposed in the stream restoration construction, including the log grade control structures pictured here.[/caption]

Princeton Hydro also provided stormwater design support for adjacent areas in Aquetong Spring Park, including multiple stormwater connections to the main tributary. After completion, Princeton Hydro provided bid assistance, developed a probable cost, drafted technical specifications, and produced a bid package to assist Aquetong Township in bringing the project to construction.

This restoration success could not have been possible without the hard work of so many dedicated project partners: Aquetong Spring Advisory Council, Bucks County Trout Unlimited, Solebury Township, Aquetong Township, Simone Collins Landscape Architects, PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, PA Department of Community and Economic Development, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Lenni-Lenape Turtle Clan, and Princeton Hydro.

…

Princeton Hydro specializes in the planning, design, permitting, implementing, and maintenance of ecological rehabilitation projects. To learn more about our watershed restoration services, click here. To learn about some of our award-winning restoration projects check out our blogs about the Pin Oak Forest Conservation Area freshwater wetland restoration project:

[visual-link-preview encoded="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"] [post_title] => Restoring Aquetong Creek: Stream Rehabilitation, Reforestation, and Invasive Species Control [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => aquetong-creek-restoration-project [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2022-12-16 13:23:07 [post_modified_gmt] => 2022-12-16 13:23:07 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://princetonhydro.com/?p=10290 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [8] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 9813 [post_author] => 1 [post_date] => 2021-12-28 02:38:00 [post_date_gmt] => 2021-12-28 02:38:00 [post_content] =>

Thousands of native flowering plants and grasses were planted at Thompson Park in Middlesex County, New Jersey. Once established, the native plant meadow will not only look beautiful, it will reduce stormwater runoff and increase habitat for birds, pollinators, and other critical species.

The planting was completed by community volunteers along with Eric Gehring of Kramer+Marks Architects, Middlesex County Youth Conservation Corps, Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Middlesex County, South Jersey Resource Conservation and Development Council, and Princeton Hydro Landscape Architect Cory Speroff, PLA, ASLA, CBLP.

All of the plants that were installed are native to the north-central region of New Jersey. Volunteers planted switchgrass (panicum virgatum), orange coneflower (rudbeckia fulgida), blue wild indigo (baptisia australis), partridge pea (chamaecrista fasciculata), Virginia mountain mint (pycnanhemum virginianum), and aromatic aster (symphyotrichum oblongifolium). In selecting the location for each of the plants, special consideration was given to each species' drought tolerance and sunlight and shade requirements. The selected plant species all provide important wildlife value, including providing food and shelter for migratory birds.

Photos provided by: Michele Bakacs

The planting initiative is one part of a multi-faceted Stormwater Treatment Train project recently completed in Thompson Park. The project is funded by a Water Quality Restoration 319(h) grant awarded to South Jersey Resource Conservation and Development Council by the NJDEP.

Middlesex County Office of Parks and Recreation and Office of Planning, NJDEP, South Jersey Resource Conservation and Development Council, Middlesex County Mosquito Extermination Commission, Freehold Soil Conservation District, Rutgers Cooperative Extension, Enviroscapes, and Princeton Hydro worked together to bring this project to fruition.

To learn more about the Thompson Park Zoo stormwater project, check out our recent blog:

Stormwater Management at Thompson Park Zoo

What is Stormwater Runoff? Stormwater runoff is all of the rainfall or snowmelt water that is not absorbed into the ground and instead flows over land. When not managed properly, stormwater runoff causes issues like pollution in our waterways, flooding, and erosion. Stormwater runoff has been cited in multiple studies as a leading cause of...

[post_title] => Thousands of Native Plants Installed in Thompson Park [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => thompson-park-native-plant-meadow [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2021-12-27 12:58:34 [post_modified_gmt] => 2021-12-27 12:58:34 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://princetonhydro.com/?p=9813 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [9] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 8324 [post_author] => 1 [post_date] => 2021-05-28 15:54:02 [post_date_gmt] => 2021-05-28 15:54:02 [post_content] =>

Most of us are familiar with the famous quote "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” This sentiment is at the center point of the Highlands Act and Regional Master Plan, which provides funding to help New Jersey’s Highlands communities take a proactive and regional approach to watershed protection.

Historically, private lake associations and municipalities have worked autonomously to address water quality issues and develop improvement plans. Working together, however, and taking a regional approach to lake and watershed management has much farther-reaching benefits. Taking an integrated approach helps improve water quality and reduce incidents of aquatic invasive species and harmful algal blooms (HABs) not just in one waterbody, but throughout an entire region.

The New Jersey Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council (Highlands Council) is a regional planning agency that works in partnership with municipalities and counties in the Highlands Region of northern New Jersey to encourage exactly such an approach. Created as part of the 2004 New Jersey Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act (the Highlands Act), the Highlands Council has funded numerous water-quality-related planning grants throughout the region.

“Watersheds are inherently regional; they don’t follow municipal boundaries. So the Highlands Council is in a unique position to address these challenges from that perspective,” says Keri Green, Highlands Council Science Manager. “It’s critical for municipalities to understand what is entering their lakes from the surrounding watershed before they can effectively address in-lake issues. Across the region, the stormwater inlets and roadways that encircle and affect lakes are owned and maintained by the municipalities, and when we can evaluate these inputs, we can plan for how to address impairments.”

In 2019, the Highlands Council funded a Lake Management planning grant for the Borough of Ringwood that adopted this wider watershed view, and would ultimately become a model for similar Highlands Council grants within the region. The Borough chose to engage the services of Princeton Hydro to support the project work.

“This regional approach to lake and watershed management is the obvious choice from a scientific, technical, and community point of view. Historically, however, this approach is rarely taken,” said Princeton Hydro’s Senior Project Manager, Christopher Mikolajczyk, who is a Certified Lake Manager and lead designer for this initiative. “We were thrilled to work with the Borough of Ringwood and the Highlands Council to set a precedent, which has opened the door for the Townships of West Milford and Rockaway, and will hopefully inspire the formation of more public-private lake management partnerships.”

Rockaway Receives Lake Management Planning Grant from the Highlands Council

Rockaway Township in Morris County, New Jersey received Highlands Council grant approval in January to complete a Lake Management Planning Study. Eleven small- to medium-sized lakes in the township are working together for a watershed assessment and comprehensive regional analysis, which will lead to the creation of a Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP). The WIP will recommend and prioritize key watershed management measures that will have big impacts on water quality improvement.

Given the large number of lakes in Rockaway Township, and in an effort to keep the study to a reasonable scope, a selection process occurred with input from the Township Engineering office, the Township Health Department, Princeton Hydro and the Highlands Council. The lakes in the Rockaway Township Watershed Management Program include Green Pond, Egbert Lake, Durham Pond, Lake Emma, Camp Lewis Lake, Lake Telemark, Lake Ames, Mount Hope Pond, Mount Hope Lake, White Meadow Lake, and Fox’s Pond.

“Rockaway Township has been proactive about implementing watershed improvement projects in the past, so we were happy to provide funding to support continuing their efforts focusing on these 11 lakes,” explains Lisa Plevin, Highlands Council Executive Director. “It was a very productive collaboration with Highlands staff working in partnership with the Township to develop an approach and Princeton Hydro preparing a scope of work that met everyone’s goals.”

The watershed assessment will entail a number of analyses, including watershed modeling; hydrologic and pollutant loading analysis; watershed-based and in-lake water quality assessments; and tropic state assessments. The assessment aims to:

Identify, quantify and prioritize the watershed-based factors which may cause eutrophication;
Identify the watershed management measures needed to address general causes of water quality impairments;
Identify the relative cost of the recommended general watershed management measures; and
Generate a general schedule, based on priority, for the implementation of the recommended watershed management measures.

Once all the lab data is processed, the watershed modeling is complete, and historical data reviewed, Princeton Hydro will create a General Assessment Report that will summarize the data/observations and identify which watershed management techniques and measures are best suited for immediate or long-term implementation. The team expects to complete the General Assessment Report in the spring of 2022, after a year's worth of 2021 growing season data has been collected.

A Watershed Management Program is Underway in West Milford

In October 2020, the Highlands Council approved funding to support a watershed assessment of 22 private and public lakes in West Milford Township. The watershed assessment project is being implemented in two phases:

For Phase 1, which will take place throughout the course of 2021, Princeton Hydro will provide a historic data review; an examination of hydrologic/pollutant loads; a pollutant removal analysis; and watershed water quality analysis. The pollutants to be modeled include phosphorus, nitrogen, sediment, and bacteria, while the hydrology will include estimates of precipitation, runoff, evapotranspiration, groundwater flux, and ultimately streamflow or discharge.

This analysis will aid the Township in selecting, prioritizing and implementing nutrient and sediment load and stormwater management efforts with a focus on watershed projects that have the greatest overall benefit to the long-term management of surface water quality. The report will also identify examples of site-specific locations where wetland buffers, riparian buffers, and lakefront aqua-scaping can be implemented as part of future watershed management efforts.

For Phase 2 of the project, Princeton Hydro will investigate and assess the water quality of each of the lakes in West Milford Township during the growing season of May - October of 2022. This entails collecting bimonthly water quality samples at each lake, including in-situ water quality data consisting of real-time measurement of clarity, dissolved oxygen, temperature, and pH. The sampling events will also include a general survey of aquatic vegetation and/or algae growth, lake perimeter shoreline observations, and monitoring for nuisance waterfowl. These surveys will provide an objective understanding of the amount and distribution of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) and algae occurring throughout each lake over the course of the growing season.

The lakes included in this project are: High Crest Lake, Algonquin Waters, Lake Lookover, Kitchell Lake, Lindys Lake, Mt. Laurel Lake, Shady Lake, Wonder Lake, Mount Glen Lakes (Upper/Lower), Carpi Lake, Pinecliff Lake, Van Nostrand Lake, Upper Greenwood Lake, Post Brook Farms, Farm Crest Acres, Mt. Springs Lake, Forest Hill Park, Johns Lake, Gordon Lake, and Bubbling Springs Lake.

Leading the Way on Regional Lake Management in Ringwood, NJ

At the end of 2019, the Borough of Ringwood became the first municipality in New Jersey to take a regional approach to private lake management through a public-private partnership with four lake associations: Cupsaw, Erskine, Skyline, and Riconda.

The Borough of Ringwood is situated in the northeast corner of the New Jersey Highlands, is home to several public and private lakes, and provides drinking water to millions of New Jersey residents. In order to take an active role in the management of these natural resources, Ringwood hired Princeton Hydro to design a municipal-wide holistic watershed management plan that identifies and prioritizes watershed management techniques and measures that are best suited for immediate and long-term implementation.

Princeton Hydro recently completed a comprehensive assessment of the lakes and watersheds of Ringwood Borough. The assessment included a historical data review, hydrologic and pollutant loading analysis and in-lake and watershed based water quality data studies. The report details the results of Princeton Hydro’s mapping, modeling, and monitoring efforts in each waterbody and its respective watershed, along with specific recommendations for management implementations that are aimed at curbing the effects of nutrient and sediment loading, both within the lakes and their respective watersheds.

“Ringwood, West Milford, and Rockaway are three great examples of how people from different affiliations and backgrounds can come together to address lake and watershed monitoring and management,” said Mikolajczyk. “The key to success is open communication and a common goal!”

To learn more about Princeton Hydro’s natural resource management services, click here. And, click here to learn more about NJ Highlands Council and available grant funding.

[post_title] => Private & Public Lake Communities in NJ's Highlands Region Partner to Reduce HABs [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => regional-approach-to-lake-management-2021 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2021-06-01 21:35:31 [post_modified_gmt] => 2021-06-01 21:35:31 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://princetonhydro.com/?p=8324 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [10] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 5194 [post_author] => 3 [post_date] => 2020-07-21 07:46:19 [post_date_gmt] => 2020-07-21 07:46:19 [post_content] =>

Invasive aquatic weeds can create major impacts on freshwater ecosystems. One of the primary reasons invasives are able to thrive, spread rapidly, and outcompete native species is that the environmental checks and predators that control these species in their natural settings are lacking in the ecosystems and habitat in which they become introduced.

The subsequent damages they cause occur on many ecological levels including competition for food or habitat (feeding, refuge, and/or spawning), direct predation and consumption of native species, introduction of disease or parasites, and other forms of disruption that lead to the replacement of the native species with the invasive species. As a result, invasives often cause serious harm to the environment, the economy, and even human health.

Some of the more commonly occurring non-native aquatic plant species that impact East Coast lakes, ponds, and reservoirs include curly-leaf pondweed, eurasian watermilfoil, hydrilla, and water chestnut.

The introduction of triploid grass carp to freshwater lakes and ponds can be an effective solution and natural alternative to managing and mitigating aquatic weed growth. When stocked at a proper rate, at correct sizes, targeting proper plant species, and the right time, triploid grass carp can reduce or eliminate the need for chemical treatment of the water to control aquatic vegetation.

Originally from Asia, grass carp have been imported to the United States since the 1960s to intentionally release into controlled freshwater environments for aquatic plant control. Grass carp, which rely almost entirely on aquatic plants for their diet, prefer to eat many of the non-native aquatic plant species that negatively impact freshwater environments, including the aforementioned pondweed species and watermilfoil.

Triploid Grass Carp in Woodridge Lake

Woodridge Lake is a beautiful 385-acre freshwater lake tucked away in the hills of Litchfield County, Connecticut. The lake, which is fed by the Marshepaug River, is a man-made resource, with a dam at one end that allows the level of the lake to be controlled.

Woodridge Lake Property Owners' Association (WLPOA) closely monitors the lake, conducting water sample testing on a weekly basis. As with all waterbodies, the lake experiences aquatic weed growth, some years worse than others due to a variety of factors including climate change.

As a method to naturally mitigate aquatic weed growth, WLPOA plans to introduce triploid grass carp to the waterbody. A study by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station states that grass carp is “the only biological control used successfully in Connecticut.”

Since the grass carp are an introduced species, only triploid grass carp, which are sterile, can be used. This eliminates the possibility that the stocked fish can reproduce and overpopulate the lake, or if any were to escape the lake they could not affect other waterbodies. As an additional measure of protection, to ensure that the carp remain in the lake, a screen, or emigration control device, is required. Princeton Hydro, in partnership with WLPOA, Rowledge Pond Aquaculture, and CTDEEP recently completed the installation of a carp screen.

The screen, which was custom designed by Princeton Hydro, is located in the outlet structure of the Woodridge Lake Dam, downstream of the spillway crest and within the concrete stilling basin of the spillway structure. Subsequently, the installation and operation of the carp screen will have no impact on spillway capacity or water surface elevations at the spillway crest. In addition, there will be no impact on the flow capacity or the water surface elevations of the Marshepuag River downstream of the dam outlet structure.

The emigration control device is a modular, vertical-bar screen composed of eight sections. A modular screen design was chosen to facilitate off-site fabrication and easier installation, as well as repair of an individual section, if necessary. Installed, all eight sections transect the entire 40-foot width of the spillway structure.

WOODRIDGE LAKE CARP EXCLUSION DEVICE DESIGN by Princeton Hydro

The carp screen was specifically designed to be easy to operate and maintain, minimizing clogging and facilitating easy cleaning from the downstream side of the screen during a range of flows. The operation and maintenance plan also consists of inspections every three months and precipitation-based inspections conducted by the WLPOA staff.

Overall, the use of grass carp will help Woodridge Lake manage aquatic weed growth in a natural way and maintain a healthy and vibrant lake environment for years to come.

To learn more about Rowledge Pond Aquaculture, the oldest private fish hatchery in Connecticut, go here: rowledgepond.com. For more information about Princeton Hydro’s lake management services, go here: bit.ly/pondlake.

…

[post_title] => Using Triploid Grass Carp to Control Aquatic Vegetation [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => triploid-grass-carp [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2020-07-21 07:46:19 [post_modified_gmt] => 2020-07-21 07:46:19 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.princetonhydro.com/blog/?p=5194 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) ) [post_count] => 11 [current_post] => -1 [in_the_loop] => [post] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 12550 [post_author] => 1 [post_date] => 2023-05-16 14:22:25 [post_date_gmt] => 2023-05-16 14:22:25 [post_content] =>

However, culverts have had an unintended and significant consequence: they block the migration routes of some fish and aquatic organisms.

[caption id="attachment_12565" align="aligncenter" width="411"]

Diagram created by NOAA Fisheries[/caption]

Addressing outdated, unsafe, and obsolete culverts

Iresick Brook Culvert Restoration

Prioritizing Culvert Restoration

The toolkit was just recently released to the public with the hope that it will be used as a template to promote the development of more resilient and environmentally-friendly infrastructure.

Click here to get more info and download.

[post_title] => Restoring Road-Stream Crossings to Support Fish Passage [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => restoring-road-stream-crossings-to-support-fish-passage [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2023-05-17 16:42:08 [post_modified_gmt] => 2023-05-17 16:42:08 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://princetonhydro.com/?p=12550 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [comment_count] => 0 [current_comment] => -1 [found_posts] => 42 [max_num_pages] => 4 [max_num_comment_pages] => 0 [is_single] => [is_preview] => [is_page] => [is_archive] => [is_date] => [is_year] => [is_month] => [is_day] => [is_time] => [is_author] => [is_category] => [is_tag] => [is_tax] => [is_search] => [is_feed] => [is_comment_feed] => [is_trackback] => [is_home] => 1 [is_privacy_policy] => [is_404] => [is_embed] => [is_paged] => [is_admin] => [is_attachment] => [is_singular] => [is_robots] => [is_favicon] => [is_posts_page] => 1 [is_post_type_archive] => [query_vars_hash:WP_Query:private] => 980f704ad62dc76ede78c3faef94e058 [query_vars_changed:WP_Query:private] => 1 [thumbnails_cached] => [allow_query_attachment_by_filename:protected] => [stopwords:WP_Query:private] => [compat_fields:WP_Query:private] => Array ( [0] => query_vars_hash [1] => query_vars_changed ) [compat_methods:WP_Query:private] => Array ( [0] => init_query_flags [1] => parse_tax_query ) )

Home

Blog

Posted on May 16, 2023 by Princeton Hydro

Addressing outdated, unsafe, and obsolete culverts

Iresick Brook Culvert Restoration

Prioritizing Culvert Restoration

This article, written by Princeton Hydro team members, was recently published in the ANJEC Report, a quarterly magazine published by the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions.

Let's take a look at some examples of FWIs in action:

Lake Hopatcong

Greenwood Lake

Harveys Lake

Wesley Lake and Sunset Lake

The Threat of Aquatic Invasive Species

Studying Viable Alternatives to Prevent the Transfer of Invasive Species

Plan Formulation and Evaluation of the Prevention Alternatives

Moving Forward Towards a Healthier Ecosystem

Stay tuned for updates!

About the Refuge

Turkey Foot Ecological Restoration Project

Upcoming Restoration Activities

The Abbott Marshlands in Trenton, New Jersey

Mullica River Wetland Mitigation Site in Evesham, New Jersey

3. Third River Floodplain Wetland Enhancement Project in Bloomfield, New Jersey

SITE HISTORY

RESTORATION WORK

EXPANDING THE PROJECT SCOPE

Stormwater Management at Thompson Park Zoo

Rockaway Receives Lake Management Planning Grant from the Highlands Council

A Watershed Management Program is Underway in West Milford

Leading the Way on Regional Lake Management in Ringwood, NJ

Triploid Grass Carp in Woodridge Lake

Addressing outdated, unsafe, and obsolete culverts

Iresick Brook Culvert Restoration

Prioritizing Culvert Restoration

Blog

Popular Topics

Company News

Engineering

Environmental Action

Environmental Services

Flood Mitigation

Invasive Species Management

Lake and Pond Management

Natural Resource Management

Stormwater Management

Stream Restoration

get in touch

How would you like to be contacted?

Careers

Wrapper title

Wrapper title

Wrapper title

Wrapper title