May 5, 2020

Maintenance Fixes at Beach Haven Monitoring Station

by S-FX.com

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Written by Nicole Petersen, BBP Water Quality Specialist

The Barnegat Bay Partnership operates continuous water-quality monitoring stations in the bay at three sites: Seaside Park Yacht Club, Mantoloking Yacht Club, and Morrison’s Marina in Beach Haven. At each location, a water quality instrument – an EXO2 datasonde – collects data (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and pH) every 15 minutes and transmits it in near real-time to the NJDEP’s continuous water quality monitoring website. In 2019, we collected a total of 59,703 data readings at the three stations.

During a routine maintenance visit in April to our Beach Haven site, we noticed that the EXO2 deployment tube – pvc pipe attached to a 4×4 – had come loose from the strapping that secures it to the piling. The 4×4 is lag-bolted into the piling, so the pipe remained in place but would swing with the wind and current. From January to April, 85% of the daily maximum wind speeds there were 20 mph or greater with a maximum reading of 73 mph. These wind conditions, combined with high wave energy from westerly winds, may have placed extra stress on the straps.

Re-securing the pipe was a high priority for us, and since we would have to go into the water to do it, we decided this was the perfect time to remove the pipe for cleaning and re-painting. Excessive fouling (build-up of plant and animal life, such as barnacles) on the pipe and surrounding structure can affect the collection of data. This pipe had been in the water continuously since it was originally installed in November, 2016. We had scraped barnacles off the pipe in November of 2019 while it was still in the water, but now we had an opportunity to give it a more thorough cleaning.

Nicoles April Blog Pipe Painted 1024x576

After removing the pipe, we scraped and washed it, sanded it and then painted it with anti-fouling paint. Once the pipe was dry, we reattached it to the 4×4 and piling, then redeployed the EXO2 datasonde within the pipe. The holes along the length of the pipe allow for water flow as the tide comes in and out, preventing stagnant water from sitting in the pipe. We were able to complete this maintenance in just over 24 hours so that there was little disruption in the data being collected.

Nicoles April Blog Pipe Jim Strapping Pipe To 4x4 1 1024x768
Dr. Jim Vasslides strapping the cleaned and painted pipe to the 4×4.
Nicoles April Blog Pipe Jim Securing 4x4 And Pipe To Piling 1024x767
Dr. Jim Vasslides securing the pipe and 4×4 to the piling. The monitoring instrument was sent back down the pipe to begin collecting data again.

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UNKNOWN

There is limited data available to quantify Wetland and Riparian Buffer Preservation, or updated data to quantify Wetland Acreage. The BBP has obtained funding and will begin assessment efforts for both targets, in the next few years.

 

 Hard Clam abundance has not been updated since 2012. Recovery of the stock will be guided by the Fishery Management Plan for Hard Clams, which is under development with the NJDEP, BBP, and other organizations. Reclam the Bay and other partners have continued to plant clams for restoration purposes. Continued plantings in strategic locations which maximize survival and reproduction is one strategy to pursue in the coming years. This work can use a model developed by Rutgers with BBP funding which identified areas where planted clams could have the greatest dispersal of their larvae and thus potentially maximally contribute to the recovery of the stock.

 Water Withdrawals were over the target in the 2021 report; USGS has not yet completed its latest update, so a definitive determination of status is not available. However, additional NJDEP data show that it is likely that we continue to not meet the target. Per capita water use has gone down, demonstrating the effectiveness of water-saving appliances and practices, but that decrease has been offset by population gains. 


IN PROGRESS

New maps quantifying Submerged Aquatic Vegetation extent were developed, but poor image clarity resulted in a high degree of uncertainty in the total acreage. NJDEP and Rutgers are working to resolve the uncertainty of these maps, and improve the total acreage estimate. Funding has also been obtained for further research and restoration activities. Several groups are developing potential restoration actions.

The USGS has completed the first phase of its study to identify minimum ecological flows in select Barnegat Bay tributaries. USGS scientists compared streamflow statistics between historical and current time periods to better understand trends in watershed flow conditions. This work provides a foundation for developing ecological flow targets in the Barnegat Bay watershed.  Similar to SAV extent, funding (approximately $450K) has been obtained by the BBP to complete the remaining phases necessary for threshold determination.

 

TARGETS ACHIEVED

No targets can be considered “Achieved” at this time.

 

NOT ACHIEVING

Several Public Swimming Beaches exceeded their safe swimming standards more frequently than during their baseline time period (2016-2018).

While most beaches are routinely safe for swimming, several problematic areas such as Beachwood, Hancock, Windward, and several lake beaches need track-down studies and restoration to pinpoint and address sources of bacteria.

Acres of Approved Shellfish Waters decreased from the last report. While this decrease was small, it represents a loss of previously approved waters. Similar to public beaches, track-down studies and restoration work are needed to pinpoint and address sources of bacteria.

 

Maintenance Fixes at Beach Haven Monitoring Station

Written by Nicole Petersen, BBP Water Quality Specialist

The Barnegat Bay Partnership operates continuous
water-quality monitoring stations in the bay at three sites: Seaside Park Yacht
Club, Mantoloking Yacht Club, and Morrison’s Marina in Beach Haven. At each
location, a water quality instrument – an EXO2 datasonde – collects data (temperature,
salinity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and pH) every 15 minutes and transmits it
in near real-time to the NJDEP’s
continuous water quality monitoring website. In 2019, we collected a total
of 59,703 data readings at the three stations.

During a routine maintenance visit in April to our Beach
Haven site, we noticed that the EXO2 deployment tube – pvc pipe attached to a
4×4 – had come loose from the strapping that secures it to the piling. The 4×4 is
lag-bolted into the piling, so the pipe remained in place but would swing with
the wind and current. From January to April, 85% of the daily maximum wind
speeds there were 20 mph or greater with a maximum reading of 73 mph. These
wind conditions, combined with high wave energy from westerly winds, may have
placed extra stress on the straps.

Re-securing the pipe was a high priority for us, and since we would have to go into the water to do it, we decided this was the perfect time to remove the pipe for cleaning and re-painting. Excessive fouling (build-up of plant and animal life, such as barnacles) on the pipe and surrounding structure can affect the collection of data. This pipe had been in the water continuously since it was originally installed in November, 2016. We had scraped barnacles off the pipe in November of 2019 while it was still in the water, but now we had an opportunity to give it a more thorough cleaning.

Nicoles April Blog Pipe Painted 1024x576

After removing the pipe, we scraped and washed it, sanded it and then painted it with anti-fouling paint. Once the pipe was dry, we reattached it to the 4×4 and piling, then redeployed the EXO2 datasonde within the pipe. The holes along the length of the pipe allow for water flow as the tide comes in and out, preventing stagnant water from sitting in the pipe. We were able to complete this maintenance in just over 24 hours so that there was little disruption in the data being collected.

Nicoles April Blog Pipe Jim Strapping Pipe To 4x4 1 1024x768
Dr. Jim Vasslides strapping the cleaned and painted pipe to the 4×4.
Nicoles April Blog Pipe Jim Securing 4x4 And Pipe To Piling 1024x767
Dr. Jim Vasslides securing the pipe and 4×4 to the piling. The monitoring instrument was sent back down the pipe to begin collecting data again.
Contact Maintenance Fixes at Beach Haven Monitoring StationContact Maintenance Fixes at Beach Haven Monitoring Station
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