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DEP GRANTS $84,000
FOR PROJECT TO IMPROVE WATER QUALITY
IN THE PEAPACK BROOK (MORRIS/SOMERSET COUNTIES)
Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP) Commissioner Bob Shinn today awarded an $84,000 grant
to the Upper Raritan Watershed Association to improve water
quality in the Peapack Brook in Morris and Somerset counties.
"We are targeting the many nonpoint
sources, such as runoff from roads, litter, pet waste, fertilizers
and pesticides, that require public participation and local
partnerships to effectively manage and improve water quality
in our rivers and streams," Shinn said.
The Upper Raritan Watershed Association
in Bedminster is receiving $83,918.18 to develop
strategies to improve water quality in the Peapack Brook,
a trout production stream that flows through Chester Borough,
Chester Township, Borough of Peapack-Gladstone and Bedminster
Township. The stream and its tributaries total 22 miles
in length and its watershed covers approximately 12 square
miles.
The Peapack Brook is affected by various
types of nonpoint source pollution such as soil erosion,
inadequate streamside vegetation, stormwater runoff and
high nutrient levels that impair a healthy ecosystem. The
three-year project will assess causes of water impairments
in the brook and design control measures to reduce pollution
and increase public participation in watershed protection
activities.
"The Peapack Brook sub-watershed is
a small enough area that there will be effective involvement
with municipalities and other stakeholders, and its size
ensures that pollution-reduction measures will have a significant
impact on the brook," said Susan Endres of the Upper
Raritan Watershed Association.
Project partners include the Natural Resources
Conservation Service, North Jersey Resource Conservation
and Development Council, the Somerset-Union Soil Conservation
District, the Peapack-Gladstone Environmental Commission,
Chester Township, and DEP's Bureau of Freshwater Fisheries.
Funding for the grants is authorized by
the federal Clean Water Act (319). For more information,
contact the Division of Watershed Management's Raritan Bureau
at (609) 633-7020, or Susan Endres at the Upper Raritan
Watershed Association (908) 234-1852.
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