PLUMSTED – The Township’s Environmental Committee was recently approved to participate in a harmful algal bloom monitoring program of Oakford Lake this summer which will help determine the health of that local water body.
“Congratulations to the Plumsted Township Environmental Committee for being selected for a traveling HAB citizens science program run by Montclair State University partnering with the New Egypt High School and Americorps. This project will monitor the health of Oakford Lake and Crosswicks Creek this summer and fall,” Township Mayor Robert Bowen announced during a recent Township Committee meeting.
Environmental Committee member Kate Tallon said that when the panel applied for the program, “we knew there was a chance that we may not make it into this exciting citizen science program, but we applied anyway. Upon investigation of sites, the review showed that our lake was already experiencing blooms of some nature, being up so close to the headwaters of Crosswicks Creek.”
The data that is collected will go to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). The program is sponsored by Montclair’s Traveling HAB Lab and funded by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and members of Congress.
Tallon said this “could potentially open us up for funding and future aid and resources. We are partnering with Americorps and the New Egypt High School and community on this. This is truly citizen science at its finest.”
She noted that the program will require a huge commitment from volunteers willing to step up. “What we are asking of people is considerable. We could also use this program to promote stormwater education and social media exposure for being proactive on the protection of livestock, pets and humans who wish to use or recreate in our beautiful lake.”
“We will be testing three to five locations along the creek from the Wide Ocean to Volunteer Park from July through October a total of 10 times and each sampling will require tech calibration, on-site field sampling and then lab work to analyze the water samples for cyanobacteria,” Tallon added.
Grant Awards Received
In other news, Mayor Bowen also announced that the township received a $75,000 grant from the NJDEP “for enhancing our stormwater management. It will be a multi-year project and will include more active monitoring and management of our stormwater intakes and retention basins. This state-wide initiative has a goal of minimizing the adverse impacts of stormwater runoff produced by the flood runoff of storms and improve water quality,” the mayor added. “Our initial step was to award a contract to our municipal engineer to create a plan for these required projects.”
Plumsted also received a $13,668 local recreation improvement grant that will be combined with the monies from the Ocean County Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to resurface the basketball court at the recreation field.
“Because the amount of funding from the CDBG was less than we hoped for we were able to secure an additional grant to allow us to resurface the rec field, the basketball court, and hopefully the municipal parking lot on Main Street next to Scott’s Market,” Mayor Bowen added.
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