Stream Monitoring Program:
In collaboration with the Ten Towns Great Swamp Watershed Management Committee (Ten Towns Committee), the Watershed Association "stream teams" monitor the water quality and quantity of
the five main tributaries of the Great Swamp: the Black, Loantaka, Great and Primrose brooks, and the Upper Passaic River. The monitoring work done by our volunteers formed the basis for the development of the first-ever water quality standards for the Great Swamp watershed, released in June 2002. These water quality standards will help scientists, policy makers, and local officials protect the high quality streams from further degradation, and prioritize the more degraded streams for restoration efforts. The long-term goal is to improve the overall water quality that sustains the flora and fauna of the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge and the Passaic River, which serves as a source of drinking water for 1.2 million New Jersey residents.
Adopt-A-Stream Program:
An outgrowth of our successful water quality monitoring program, the Adopt-A-Stream Program focuses on the restoration of the individual streams that feed into the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. The first stream to be adopted, Loantaka Brook, is also the most degraded stream in the watershed; it does not meet any of the water quality standards set by the Ten Towns Committee in June 2002. In the first phase of the program, the Watershed Association is carrying out additional water monitoring to pinpoint the major source(s) of pollution impacting Loantaka Brook. Based on the results of this water monitoring, the second and third phases of the project will 1) develop and 2) implement a restoration plan for Loantaka Brook.
Stormwater runoff--"Blue-Green
Technology" Video and Handbook:
Stormwater runoff is the most severe environmental problem affecting the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge and the quality of the other exceptional natural resources in its watershed. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has endorsed a policy of "no net increase in stormwater runoff volume and pollutant loadings" in the watershed in order to help protect the Refuge.
The Watershed Association has developed a model ordinance that implements this goal using a type of stormwater management called "Blue-Green Technology." The technology offers unique, alternative, nonstructural approaches that use soil and vegetation to filter and improve runoff quality; utilize infiltration and groundwater recharge to lessen the volume of runoff; and employ shallow depression storage and a combination of other measures to reduce flood peaks. They result in a landscape enriched by aquatic wildlife habitats, indigenous vegetation, attractive natural areas, and enhanced riparian corridors.
Produced by the Watershed Association, "Doing Water Right," is a 24-minute video; the first of its kind in the region, and shows the benefits and application of Blue-Green Technology. It addresses the issue of non-point source pollution, the most serious threat to our nation's waterways, 40% of which are not "fishable or swimmable." The video shows planners, elected officials, and developers how to maintain ecologically sustainable and aesthetically pleasing landscapes while also preserving the hydrologic cycle in communities across the country. As such, the video plays an integral role in articulating innovative practice for watershed-based planning and management. Though the video focuses primarily on the eastern seaboard, it also has national importance in disseminating the use of Blue-Green Technology to all segments of the United States.
"Blue-Green Technology" Handbook: A companion to the video, the Watershed Association has completed a 175-page instruction manual designed to help developers, engineers, landscape architects, property owners and public officials better understand how to implement Blue-Green Technology. The handbook, "Blue-Green Technologies: Integrated Practices to Manage Stormwater as an Asset," contains detailed descriptions of existing Blue-Green uses in this country and abroad, as well as the engineering data required for their design and implementation.
Saving Streamways/Wetlands Acquisition Project: Work is underway to establish about 40 miles of streamways along the Upper Passaic River and Primrose Brook, the highest quality streams in the watershed. By working with landowners to establish conservation easements and implement Best Management Practices (BMPs), the Watershed Association will create connections between unrelated public lands that include the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, the Morristown National Historical Park, and the Somerset County Park Commission's Lord Stirling Park and Environmental Education Center. A brochure, Saving Streamways, has been produced and distributed and is used as a tool to help landowners understand their importance as environmental stewards. The Saving Streamways Project has now been extended to include the acquisition, or protection in perpetuity, of additional valuable watershed wetlands, known as the Wetlands Acquisition Project. Undertaking the Streamways and the Wetlands Acquisition Projects simultaneously helps us to achieve both objectives efficiently by developing further publications, meeting with individual landowners, holding public meetings and reporting on progress to local communities.
Current Activities
Other Current Activities: Land Preservation
Other Current Activities: Outreach
and Education
