Why Streamways?

"The clean waters of Primrose Brook and the Upper Passaic River are crucial to the health of the Great Swamp ecosystem. Protecting the woods, fields and wetlands through which these streams flow is fundamental to preserving water quality."

Penny Hinkle, Executive Director, 
Harding Land Trust

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Greenways are continuous corridors of undeveloped land. They may traverse a ridge, connect public lands, extend natural areas, or follow old railroad rights-of-way or scenic roads. When they abut a river or brook, these corridors are called "streamways." In their creation, they confer many benefits.

For example, the proposed streamways along Primrose Brook and the Upper Passaic River will enhance the quality of life of area residents. They will offer scenic amenities and provide a screen from everyday bustle and noise. The two streamways, moreover, will contribute to the environmental and economic soundness of the region. Let's take a closer look.

Streamways support many ecological functions. For instance, they promote water quality, furnish wildlife habitat and minimize the impacts of flooding. Streamways also play a critical role in buffering waterways from human activities. This is particularly important, because land use along streams impacts not only the quality of water in the immediate vicinity but also miles downstream.

For example, activities at the upper reaches, or headwaters, of the Passaic River and along Primrose Brook have a great influence on the productivity of downstream wetlands such as Great Swamp, which is home to over 800 species of plants and animals, 26 of which are listed by the State of New Jersey as threatened or endangered. In many ways, these species are at the mercy of upstream residents.

Streamways protect water quality in several ways. Vegetation in these corridors controls erosion and stabilizes stream banks. Stabilization prevents excess sediment from destroying habitat needed for fish reproduction and growth. In addition, vegetation filters out surface nutrients such as phosphorous and nitrogen which, if allowed to enter streams, accelerate algae growth, clouding the water, depleting oxygen and choking out desirable plants. Well-vegetated corridors have other positive effects on water quality. For example, they shade streams and lower temperature. The cooler water, in turn, promotes high levels of dissolved oxygen, essential for the survival and reproduction of trout.

Creating streamways is a way to secure open space and thus control land development – a process that, in turn, enhances overall ecosystem health. Conversely, watersheds that are dominated by impervious cover (e.g., pavement and buildings) show signs of compromised ecosystem function. It has been demonstrated that a 12 percent loss of forest cover in a watershed will begin to have measurable impact on the invertebrate (e.g., insect) life of a stream, while a 33 percent loss will have major impact (Hamilton 1997). These changes in invertebrate populations disturb the entire aquatic food chain.

In addition to maintaining the integrity of aquatic ecosystems, streamways contribute to drinking water supplies. Many porous soils transmit water to underground aquifers – that is, water-bearing beds of permeable rock, sand or gravel. These groundwater resources can then be tapped for drinking water. Some communities in the Great Swamp watershed draw water entirely from aquifers. According to Harding's Environmental Resource Inventory, the aquifer system that underlies the area supplies water to 600,000 people in 25 municipalities. Building on soils that aid aquifer recharge decreases the possibility that water will reach these crucial underground supplies.

Streamways affect not only the quantity of drinking water but also the rate and quantity of stream flow. Such corridors and associated wetlands help control the magnitude of flooding during storms. By detaining and absorbing water, these areas slow stream movement and reduce the volume of flow, preventing damage to nearby residences and businesses. One Illinois study found that for every one percent increase in protected wetlands along a stream corridor, peak stream-flows decreased by 3.7 percent (Lerner and Poole 1999).

In addition, unbroken streamways serve as wildlife passage corridors, facilitating animal movement both during seasonal migrations and in the course of daily activity. Animals rely on these areas for their survival, whether escaping from predators or foraging, nesting and mating. Contiguous, undeveloped land also promotes seed dispersal, recolonization of plant and animal populations and genetic exchange. The Streamways Project has the potential to permanently link many popular natural areas and wildlife sanctuaries, helping to maintain and enhance the watershed's tremendous biodiversity.

The creation of streamways provides many financial and economic benefits, from reductions in public expenditures to tax savings for individuals.

Degradation to waterways is costly. It is much cheaper to prevent problems than to remedy them. As noted above, streamways improve water quality and filter out pollutants.

Cleaner water means less need for costly mechanical and non-natural treatment measures such as water filtration systems for drinking water. For example, a single three-mile stretch of wooded swamp on the Alcovy River in Georgia provides water-quality benefits worth an estimated $3 million a year (NWF web site – see "References and Further Reading").

Aside from protecting water quality, streamways can help mitigate the impacts of floods. Flood damages in the United States average $4.3 billion per year (Lerner and Poole 1999). Yet, a protected floodplain contains no "improved" property to be damaged and reduces the destruction of developed areas downstream. In New Jersey, the public has borne tremendous costs for property damage claims along the Lower Passaic River. These costs are the result, in part, of the high percentage of development along the lower reaches of the river. In 1984, for instance, a severe flood resulted in three drownings and $400 million in property damage (ANJEC Chapter in Hamilton 1997). If we heed the lessons of the Lower Passaic and avoid development within the floodplains of the Primrose Brook and Upper Passaic, we can avoid similar problems upstream.

Elsewhere in the United States, communities are discovering that it is less expensive to preserve wetlands than to pursue structural measures of flood control. For instance, the Army Corps of Engineers determined that it would be more expensive and less effective to build extensive flood-control facilities along the Charles River outside Boston than to maintain existing wetlands. Loss of the wetlands would have caused an estimated $17 million in annual flood damage (NWF web site).

Conserving streamways, greenways, and open space in general can save a community money by avoiding the costs associated with residential development. Several years ago, a Mendham Township citizens’ group opposed the development of 98 houses on the Schiff property, a former Boy Scouts reservation.

The group calculated that at the 1993 tax rate, only "senior citizens, residents with no public school children, or homes assessed for $850,000 or more actually pay for themselves" (ANJEC in Hamilton 1997). Had the project gone forward, the costs for community services would have led to an average property-tax increase of $385 annually. In contrast, the public cost to preserve the property, including acquisition expenses, was calculated to be $104 per household.

In the end, a compromise was reached. The Schiff Natural Lands Trust, which had already owned 40+ acres of the scout camp, acquired an additional 310 acres. Another 190 acres became the Brookrace development.

In addition to public cost reductions, land conservation promotes personal savings. Property owners who transfer title to their land or convey an easement may be entitled to significant tax breaks. As discussed later in this booklet, it is possible to reduce property, capital gains, income, and estate taxes through land conservation.

Moreover, the presence of natural areas and greenways can enhance property values and is regarded as an amenity by many real-estate agents. For example, a 1986 survey showed that properties near the Burke-Gilman Trail in Seattle sold for an average price that was six percent higher than homes not in proximity to the trail.

In addition to their influence on real-estate values, streamways benefit the local economy. Recreational activities such as fishing, swimming, boating and birdwatching that take place on public lands depend on clean waterways. Recreation and tourism are a significant portion of our local economy. The Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge draws some 300,000 visitors each year, and Morristown National Historical Park attracts 500,000 annual visitors. In turn, these individuals and families spend money at local restaurants, hotels, and businesses. They provide a boost to the regional economy with a fairly low impact on the environment. The establishment of streamways in the Great Swamp watershed will increase the attractiveness of nearby public places while preserving the privacy of local landowners.