BOROUGH OF RINGWOOD INITIATES FIRST-IN-STATE REGIONAL APPROACH TO LAKE MANAGEMENT THROUGH PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP

The Borough of Ringwood initiates a unique public-private partnership
with four community lake associations to
holistically manage watershed health related to private lakes

Providing drinking water to millions of New Jersey residents, the Borough of Ringwood is situated in the heart of the New Jersey Highlands and is home to several public and private lakes that sit within the Ramapo Mountains. In order to take an active role in the management of these natural resources within multiple watersheds, the Borough of Ringwood will be the first municipality in the state of New Jersey to take a regional approach to private lake management through a public-private partnership (PPP) with four lake associations.

The four private sets of lakes targeted in the plan— Cupsaw, Erskine, Skyline, and Riconda —were created by the Ringwood Company in the 1920s and 30s to promote the municipality as a hunting and fishing retreat and a summer resort. They currently provide private beach clubs and recreational opportunities for surrounding homeowners who can opt to join as members.

Generally, the health of a private lake is funded and managed in isolation by the governing private lake association group. Ringwood Borough Manager Scott Heck’s concept was to design and implement a municipal-wide holistic watershed management plan to use as a tool to identify capital priorities to enhance water quality throughout the community. Mr. Heck hired Princeton Hydro, a leader in ecological and engineering consulting to design this innovative project.

“This regional approach to lake and watershed management is a no-brainer from a scientific, technical, and community point of view. Historically, however, municipal governments and private lake associations have rarely partnered to take such an approach,” said Princeton Hydro’s Senior Project Manager, Christopher Mikolajczyk, who is a Certified Lake Manager and lead designer for this initiative. “We’re thrilled to work with the Borough of Ringwood and the New Jersey Highlands Council to set a precedent for this logical watershed management strategy, which opens the door for future public-private partnerships.”

As part of this project, a Watershed-based Assessment will be completed. The following objectives will be met:

1. Identification, quantification, and prioritization of watershed-based factors which may cause eutrophication;
2. Identification of watershed management measures needed to address general causes of water quality impairments;
3. Identification of the relative cost of the recommended general watershed management measures;
4. The generation of a schedule, based on priority, for the implementation of the recommended watershed management measures; and
5. A general assessment report will be authored at the conclusion of the study.

Funding for the Watershed-based Assessment for the Lakes of the Borough of Ringwood is being provided by the New Jersey Highlands Council through a grant reimbursement to the Borough of Ringwood. As part of the PPP , the Borough of Ringwood will review and where feasible implement any suggested actions surrounding the lakes. The final report, provided to the Borough by Princeton Hydro, will identify and prioritize watershed management techniques and measures that are best suited for immediate and long-term implementation, as well as provide cost projections for implementation in both the short-term and long-term.

This integrated approach to watershed and lake management is an important preventative measure to improve water quality for millions of people and reduce potential future incidents of aquatic invasive species and harmful algal blooms throughout the region.

For more information about the PPP, check out today’s NorthJersey.com news story. To learn more about Princeton Hydro’s lake and pond management services, go here: http://bit.ly/pondlake.

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• Environmental Services
• Lake and Pond Management
• Lake Restoration
• Uncategorized