Watershed Wanderings

Welcome to "The Source"

2011-11-03T14:13:00.000-04:00

Our first new e-newsletter goes out today! Check out "The Source!"

Happy reading!

Somerville Rain Barrel Workshop

2011-09-02T09:00:00.001-04:00

Last week, we held our first rain barrel workshop of the year. Our Peters Brook Residential Rain Barrel Rebate Program had just kicked off in July, and we had a big calling for another workshop in the Somerville area.

On a Tuesday night in late August, we had 28 rain barrels built and approximately 40 people attend the workshop. This was the first time we had a waiting list days before the event! We had a great turn out.

Not only did we go over the benefits and how to build a rain barrel, we covered the Rebate Program as well. Over 60% of the workshop attendees live within the Peters Brook Watershed.

Here are some pictures!

Rain garden in Farmingdale

2011-09-01T08:45:00.002-04:00

Last fall I was invited to attend an outreach event in the Manasquan Watershed. The event was the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore Groundwater Festival. I had been requested to bring information about rain gardens. Little did I know at the time, a few months later, we would be planning a rain garden and getting one installed!

Cadette Girl Scouts from Troop 68 in Toms River had begun working on their Silver Award project--to design and install a rain garden. In March, we met with Rutgers Water Resources Program to determine the best site, and in April the planning had really begun. The girls worked hard through the spring to secure plant donations from local nurseries.

In July, we planned for the installation. Staff from the Girl Scouts prepared the site, which was to be a 550-square foot rain garden, which drained a 1200-square foot section of roof from a downspout. The garden was oversized--the steep slope of the roof meant that the roof area being drained was actually much larger than 1200 square feet.

The area was dug out, and the night before our planting it poured. When I arrived at the site, the 550-square foot x 1 foot deep hole was completely filled with water. Between two pumps and the scouts acting as the bucket brigade, all of the water was out in less than 2 hours.

We moved on to prepping the rain garden with the help of the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Monmouth County. We added topsoil and compost and leveled out the garden. We created a berm with additional material. It doesn't sound like much, and took a lot of work over the next few hours. Everyone was beat, so we called it a day, and met back the following day.

On Sunday, we planted. And planted and planted. We had laid landscape fabric along the berm to prevent weeds from coming through, and put landscape fabric in the trench that would feed the rain garden. Troop 68 had designed the rain garden, which included: Butterfly Milkweed, Turtlehead, Purple Coneflower, Cinnamon Fern, and Witchhazel, to name a few.

For all photos, visit our photo album.

Thanks to everyone who was a part of this project!

Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore
Cadette Troop 68
Rutgers Water Resources Program
Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Monmouth County

Rain Barrels for Habitat

2011-06-08T08:32:00.039-04:00

A few months ago, we were contacted by Raritan Valley Habitat for Humanity about rain barrels. They are building nine houses in Bridgewater, close to the Raritan River, and they were interested in rain barrels. The NJ Water Supply Authority purchased rain barrels, automatic downspout diverters, and soaker hoses to outfit each house with two rain barrels to conserve water and reduce stormwater runoff. The Habitat staff learned how to build the barrels, and built 18 inch high stands for the rain barrels. Habitat staff and volunteers put the rain barrels together and so far, have installed 9 barrels.

This setup is different than the typical setup we have promoted in the past, and from what is in our rain barrel brochure. The automatic diverter eliminates the need for a separate inflow and outflow, as well as the need to reconfigure the downspout each winter. The diverter can stay on your downspout, as it is metal rather than plastic, and only the plastic tubing needs to be removed and the holes plugged up. The barrel should still be drained in late fall.

The setup takes a little more time than just cutting the downspout and adding a flexible downspout attachment, plus an overflow hose to the top of the barrel. In this setup, when the barrel is full, it backs up water in the flexible green hose, which sends the rain water down the regular downspout, which may drain to your yard (we hope), driveway, or the street.

How the automatic diverter works

If you are interested in installing a rain barrel on your house, you should check into an automatic diverter system. Be aware of the material of the diverter (plastic vs. metal) and fully understand the installation before purchasing. Also realize that a diverter system may affect the construction design of the rain barrel itself. These barrels do not have an open top (they are screw off for cleaning) and do not require a mosquito screen.

Happy rain barreling!

Permeable pavement @ EPA

2011-06-03T08:30:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I had the fortunate opportunity to attend a presentation at the Edison EPA office and to tour their stormwater best management practices (BMPs). I was especially intrigued by their permeable pavement parking lot. They are testing the three types of permeable pavement out there: pervious concrete, porous asphalt, and porous pavers.

Now, why are these important, and what makes them a best management practice? Traditional pavement--asphalt and concrete, what makes up roads, sidewalks, parking lots, etc--is impermeable, meaning that water is not able to pass through. Natural spaces, like forests, have pervious grounds surfaces, which means that water does pass through the soil, replenishing the groundwater supply. As development occurs, heavy machinery runs over our native soil (which may have been pervious in the past), which compacts the soil, making it impervious.

Modern stormwater practices carry water away from these impervious areas (storm drains, detention basins, etc) and do not allow water to enter the soil below, which also acts as a filter for pollutants, like sediment and motor oil. In short, permeable pavement allows water to pass through and eliminates some stormwater (and pollutants) from reaching our streams. Some flooding is caused by excess stormwater from development, which historically had been held on site and infiltrated into the ground.

So at EPA, they have a demonstration parking lot, where they are testing out these permeable pavement options. This is an active office parking lot, and they have hundreds of instruments under the parking lot to be able to measure the effectiveness of the pavement options.

The three options

porous pavers

porous asphalt

pervious concrete

Each has their challenges, but they all have big benefits. Just take a look at how effective these pavement options can be:

For more information about the project, here's the video from EPA, or visit their website.

World Water Day

2011-03-22T07:35:00.001-04:00

March 22 is WORLD WATER DAY. Water is a basic requirement for all life, yet water resources are facing increasing demands from, and competition among, users. In 1992, the UN General Assembly designated 22 March of each year as the World Day for Water.

Visit http://www.worldwaterday.org/ to learn more! This year's topic is Water for Cities: Responding to the Urban Challenge.

Fix a Leak Week!

2011-03-14T07:34:00.004-04:00

It's Fix a Leak Week! March 14-20, 2011!

According to the U.S. EPA, more than 1 trillion gallons of water leak from U.S. homes each year. So check your plumbing fixtures and irrigation systems this week to make sure you aren't contributing.

You can take the pledge here: http://www.epa.gov/WaterSense/pledge/

Fix a Leak Week is sponsored by the U.S. EPA's WaterSense program.

Become a fan of NJWSA on Facebook!

rain, rain

2010-12-02T11:51:00.007-05:00

In this field, every time it rains (at least an inch of rain), we've got projects and sites to visit. And yesterday, it rained, so out we went. I do enjoy donning my knee-high rubber boots, and this gives me the perfect opportunity.

We visit some of our rain gardens.... (below is one of the Van Derveer School rain gardens from a September 2010 storm)

we look for other potential problem areas...

(This is the Peters Brook)

and sometimes we take samples...

All of this gives us insight into what might be negatively affecting water quality and how we can potentially improve it.

Raritan Rain Barrel Workshop - Photos of the Week!

2010-08-25T11:25:00.008-04:00

Last Thursday, about 30 people gathered in Elizabeth Avenue Park in Raritan to build rain barrels. This is part of the ongoing Peters Brook Stormwater Reduction Project, which Rutgers Cooperative Extension is a partner. We made the news!

For more information about rain barrels, visit our rain barrel page.

Upcoming Rain Barrel Workshops

2010-08-02T12:52:00.005-04:00

We (NJWSA and Rutgers Cooperative Extension) will be hosting three rain barrel workshops in the month of August! The popularity of the Somerville workshop in June sparked quite an interest, so we have expanded our Peters Brook project to include two additional neighborhoods (in addition to the initial neighborhood in Somerville around Walck Park): a neighborhood near Elizabeth Ave Park in Raritan, and a neighborhood just off of Foothill Road in Bridgewater.

The dates:

Raritan: August 19, 6-8pm at Elizabeth Ave Park
Somerville: August 26, 6-8pm at Walck Park
Bridgewater: August 28, 10am-noon at Somerset County Vo-Tech

If you are interested in one of the rain barrel workshops, please contact Pat Rector at rector@njaes.rutgers.edu

Read more information about rain barrels on our website!

Facebook!

2010-08-02T07:20:00.005-04:00

We're on Facebook! So please become a fan of our page!

Rain barrels!

2010-07-06T14:24:00.008-04:00

On June 10, we (along with Rutgers Cooperative Extension) held a Build-A-Barrel workshop that was targeted for a community along the Peters Brook in Somerville. The general premise behind the targeted community is that Rutgers (as well as us) are looking to quantify the effect of small best management practices--or BMPs-- (such as rain barrels and rain gardens) on stream flow. We're hoping that these BMPs will reduce the amount of water that reaches the Peters Brook, and in turn, will carry less pollutants to the waterway and reduce erosion due to high volume flows.

So we held the workshop, and about 35 people showed up, many from the targeted community, and 26 barrels were built. Nearly everyone that attended wanted at least one extra barrel, and many people walked by the park and wanted to join if we held another workshop. So, I would say that it was a success!

Here are some more photos from the evening (or visit our photo gallery for the complete collection!):

More information about the stormwater project on our Peters Brook page or you can read some of the press about this event on our News page.

We are planning additional Build-A-Barrel workshops to be held in each of the three Peters Brook communities (Bridgewater, Somerville, and Raritan). We are planning for August 2010. In the meantime, you can learn more about rain barrels!

Van Derveer Rain Gardens!

2010-06-16T09:57:00.008-04:00

Last week, our staff, along with Rutgers Water Resources staff, NJ Watershed Ambassadors, Somerset County Park Commission staff, and students and staff from Van Derveer Elementary school installed two rain gardens at the school to add to their outdoor classroom.

Photos from Rain Garden #1

pre-installation

After soil amendments and a thin mulch layer

After planting!

Photos from Rain Garden #2

pre-installation

after soil amendments and thin mulch layer

After planting!

Things are very busy around here, so I will update soon with some more information about the gardens!

Photo of the Week

2010-06-02T09:38:00.003-04:00

The fog this morning reminded me of this picture, which is from the feeder canal at Bull's Island Recreation Area, just north of Stockton, NJ. Photo taken October 2006.

rain gardens on the brain!

2010-05-28T15:15:00.009-04:00

I have been spending the past few days preparing for our upcoming rain garden project at Van Derveer Elementary School in Somerville (part of the Peters Brook Watershed - WMA9), which we'll be working with the students to plant in just under two weeks. I was looking to take a picture of a rain garden nearby, so I went to Rutgers Water Resources Program website and looked up their demonstration gardens. I came across one at Hillsborough High School (which is within the Royce Brook Watershed, which is part of the Millstone Watershed - WMA 10), just down the road from us, so I took a trip over.

Upon further investigation, I learned that this garden was designed and constructed by an Eagle Scout and is maintained by the school's Special Education department "World Readiness/Community Work" program. I think that's really neat.

I liked the sign that they had on each side of the garden. It describes the water quality benefits as well as the habitat enhancement and native plant aspects in a clear concise way.

I can't wait to see Van Derveer's gardens when they are completed!

Also, we recently updated the Peters Brook page on our website, so please check it out!

Thompson Park Rain Garden

2010-04-29T09:35:00.009-04:00

On Tuesday, April 27th, a rain garden was installed in Thompson Park (Jamesburg/Monroe Twp), as part of the Manalapan Brook Watershed Protection and Restoration Plan. The garden was planted by 'students' of the Rutgers Rain Garden Certification Workshop.

The rain stayed away, and we ended out having some sun for our planting. Here are some photos of the garden and the planting event:

sand layer of rain garden during the week prior to planting

ready for the compost layer

volunteers planting the rain garden

finished rain garden, with soil erosion control blankets and geese deterrents.

This 1,300-square-foot rain garden, will treat nearly 13,000 square feet of parking lot at Thompson Park, before polluted water can run into the Manalapan Lake.

To read the full article or for more information: click here.

Photo of the Week

2010-03-30T15:36:00.002-04:00

Walnut Brook, on 3/17/2010, after significant storm.

World Water Day

2010-03-22T08:09:00.004-04:00

Today, we will look at water on a global scale because March 22 is World Water Day. This international observance grew out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

This year's theme is "Clean Water for a Healthy World." About 396 trillion gallons of wastewater are produced each year. In developing nations, about 80 percent of that water goes untreated, and ends up waterways that people will use for drinking water supplies. This is as a result of a lack of regulations and resources.

All over the world, groups and schools are hosting events to raise awareness about water availability, sanitation, and hygiene.

Read more here.

In the aftermath of the storm...

2010-03-18T10:13:00.010-04:00

If you haven't heard yet, New Jersey was hit hard this past weekend by a nor'easter that brought 2-5 inches of rain in many areas. Work in the water resources field makes you look at storms in a different way. I sat at my house on Saturday evening and Sunday morning, looking at hydrographs on the internet, wondering how our restoration project sites are doing, and the other places that I have been to around the area.

Hydrographs show the discharge (think: the amount of water) of a stream vs. time. Here is an example of a hydrograph from the Mulhockaway Creek from this past weekend:

The peak of the hydrograph lags behind the peak in rainfall. Where the peak is on the hydrograph (compared to the peak in rainfall), and how long the peak lasts depends on the characteristics of the watershed and the stream itself(some of which may include: slope, soil type, streambed sediment size, etc).

Hydrographs for streams that have United States Geological Survey (USGS) gauges can easily be found. If you are any of our project areas (Raritan Basin, Delaware & Raritan Canal, Manasquan), you can look up the USGS pages through our website.

If you are interested in other areas around the country, you can visit this USGS page and find your stream or river of interest by state.

So aside from spending time looking at hydrographs, I mentioned that we're interested in looking at our restoration site. Below is a video, recorded by our very own Rick Anthes, on Monday afternoon (3/15) at Hoffman Park in Union Township, NJ on the Mulhockaway (learn more about the Mulhockaway project here). The area he is focused on is the floodplain interceptor, which is used to slow down water before it enters the stream during high-flow events. Hoffman Park's stream restoration took place in the summer of 2006.

Photo of the Week!

2010-03-12T14:38:00.002-05:00

Wickecheoke Creek, March 10, 2010
Photo by H. Barrett

The section of streambank that I'm standing on to take this picture is actually gabions, which were put into place as the streambank was eroding and had the potential to destroy the road.

To salt, or not to salt....

2010-02-26T09:38:00.004-05:00

In the wake of yet another snow storm for Central Jersey, I feel constantly bombarded with road salt. I drive 33 miles to work each direction every day, so I want the roads to be clear and safe for my drive to work (or wherever else I need to go that day). I can't help but feel torn though, as I work in water resources, and I think about the other implications of road salt (not just the safer roads and high costs to municipalities and NJDOT). I'm talking about the waterways.

If you've ever been swimming in the ocean, you know that a mouthful of seawater does not taste good. There are plenty of aquatic organisms, including fish, that face this every time we get a snow storm and use road salt. These salty freshwater bodies won't have the same 35 parts per million concentration at ocean water, but it is enough to make a difference. Salty streams, rivers, and lakes can lead to contaminated groundwater (affecting wells), and also can affect public water supplies.

When I was a NJ Watershed Ambassador, I conducted one of my visual and biological assessments on the Peters Brook in Somerville just one day after a snow storm. We use macroinvertebrates (read: aquatic bugs) as indicators of stream health. The Peters Brook does not usually score well in this area for many reasons (urbanization, lots of impervious cover, etc). On this particular day in December 2008, I had found mostly tolerant species, meaning that they can handle some water pollution, but I had also come across a few sensitive species--meaning that they can handle a bit of water pollution, but not as much as the tolerant species (I found no intolerant species--which can handle little to no pollution at all). The odd thing was that the sensitive species, the sowbugs, were all dead. I've never had an entire group of macros be dead upon sampling before. The only explanation is that the roads had just been salted, and the snow melted enough to send some of that salt into the Peters Brook, which killed the sowbugs.

Safety is of the utmost concern, so make sure that your driveways, walkways and roadways are clear and safe. There are alternatives out there that have less of an effect on the environment. Calcium chloride and magnesium chloride are the most popular alternatives, which usually require less amount per area of application than traditional sodium chloride and they work at lower temperatures; however, they are often more expensive.

Check out more information on road salt from the Salt Institute or this article from the Star Ledger from Feb 15th.

Freshwater Fish Trivia!

2010-02-16T13:17:00.002-05:00

It has been a very long time since I have updated the blog (and I have missed several weeks for the Photo of the Week).

While I work on finding a good photo by the end of this week, Ken gave me some freshwater fishing trivia questions!

1. Which type of Sunfish is common to all 50 states?
a. Pumpkinseeds
b. Bluegills
c. Redears

2. Rainbow trout are originally from what region of the US?
a. Pacific Coast
b. South West
c. North East

3. Which is not a typical food for a Largemouth bass?
a. Crayfish
b. Frogs
c. Bats

4. The world record Muskellunge with a weight of 69 lbs 11 oz was caught in which state?
a. Maine
b. Ohio
c. Wisconsin

5. Trolling would not be used on which body of water?
a. Lake
b. Stream
c. River

Good luck!

Answers are posted in the comments section!

2010-01-20T09:31:00.004-05:00

An Icy North and South Branch Confluence, January 13, 2010
Photo by H. Barrett

Photo of the Week

2010-01-04T08:50:00.003-05:00

Raritan Power Canal, Duke Island Park, Raritan Borough
December 31, 2009
Photo by H. Barrett

Happy New Year!

Please check out our updated website: www.raritanbasin.org

Photo of the Week

2009-12-24T08:50:00.002-05:00

An early morning at Round Valley Reservoir!

Happy holidays to all!

Photo of the Week

2009-12-16T09:59:00.002-05:00

Cedar Grove Brook, Somerset, NJ

I'm wishing it was not so cold out right now, so I chose this week's photo to remind me of a nice crisp fall day, rather than a frigid winter day.

Rain, rain....

2009-12-09T15:17:00.008-05:00

Peters Brook, Somerville, facing downstream towards Cliff St. bridge

Since we have an interest in the Peters Brook in Somerville for several projects, I took a trip out today after the rain had stopped to see what the Peters Brook looked like. By the time this photo was taken, the peak stage had already passed and the waters were receding. The Peters Brook over-topped its banks and was carry quite a bit of sediment. Most of this photograph is showing land that is now covered by the high flows of the stream.

Here's what this spot looks like in normal flows from the top of the bridge facing upstream (at Cliff Street, Somerville):

(taken December 2008)

The Peters Brook Greenway is a great way to spend some quality time with this stream!

Photo of the week

2009-12-08T15:01:00.005-05:00

Here we have an example of streambank erosion along the Peters Brook in Somerville, NJ. Streambank erosion is a result of high velocity and/or high volume flows during rain events. The problem is compounded by impervious pavement and pipes that deliver stormwater to the stream before it can infiltrate or evapotranspirate. Homeowners can reduce stormwater runoff by installing a rain barrel or a rain garden.

Photo of the Week

2009-12-01T10:22:00.002-05:00

Since it is December 1st, we decided we should set the winter mood with a little icy scene from the Delaware & Raritan Canal. Happy December!

Photo of the Week

2009-11-24T07:46:00.003-05:00

Here's Assistant Watershed Protection Specialist Rick Anthes having a little fun at Round Valley Reservoir.

Photo by H. Barrett

Photo of the Week

2009-11-18T10:06:00.005-05:00

Spruce Run Reservoir, September 2009
Photo by H. Barrett

View our Photo Gallery

Ken's thought for the day

2009-11-17T15:20:00.005-05:00

Visited the Freehold Soil Conservation District today. Very interesting discussion of sub-watershed approach to construction site review. They have a lot of good info on projects broken down spatially on a sub-watershed basis so a developer/inspector is aware of what's happening upstream and downstream of a particular project. Much more regional approach then you typically see - but still need to refine and institutionalize the approach.

Also, checked out the rain garden that we built with Rutgers Extension over the summer at the adjacent vo-tech school site (see picture above). It looks to be functioning well but we'll get a better sense of its success come spring.

Welcome!

2009-10-19T12:12:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the blog of the New Jersey Water Supply Authority Watershed Protection Unit. Stay tuned for updates on our River Friendly Programs, field work, and other projects we are working on. Thanks for checking in with us!

-Heather & the WPU team

Watershed Wanderings

Welcome to "The Source"

Somerville Rain Barrel Workshop

Rain garden in Farmingdale

Rain Barrels for Habitat

Permeable pavement @ EPA

World Water Day

Fix a Leak Week!

rain, rain

Raritan Rain Barrel Workshop - Photos of the Week!

Upcoming Rain Barrel Workshops

Raritan: August 19, 6-8pm at Elizabeth Ave ParkSomerville: August 26, 6-8pm at Walck ParkBridgewater: August 28, 10am-noon at Somerset County Vo-Tech

Facebook!

Rain barrels!

Van Derveer Rain Gardens!

Photo of the Week

rain gardens on the brain!

Thompson Park Rain Garden

Photo of the Week

World Water Day

In the aftermath of the storm...

Photo of the Week!

To salt, or not to salt....

Freshwater Fish Trivia!

Photo of the Week

Photo of the Week

Photo of the Week

Rain, rain....

Photo of the week

Photo of the Week

Photo of the Week

Photo of the Week

Ken's thought for the day

Welcome!

Raritan: August 19, 6-8pm at Elizabeth Ave Park
Somerville: August 26, 6-8pm at Walck Park
Bridgewater: August 28, 10am-noon at Somerset County Vo-Tech