September 15, 2020

Virtual Meetings to Kick-off Development of Two New Sub-Watershed Plans

by S-FX.com

toms river headwaters

With funding provided by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the Barnegat Bay Partnership will be developing two Watershed Protection and Restoration Plans for Barnegat Bay sub-watersheds, one for Toms River and one for Cedar Creek, Forked River, and Oyster Creek. By targeting the protection and restoration of the water quality and natural resources in these sub-watersheds, the plans will benefit both local communities and the bay.

Toms River Watershed Plan

A virtual kick-off meeting for developing the Toms River sub-watershed plan will be on Tuesday, September 29th at 11 a.m. At 124 square miles, the Toms River is the largest sub-watershed of the Barnegat Bay and one of the two biggest freshwater sources to the bay. The Toms River sub-watershed includes all of Lakehurst, South Toms River, Pine Beach, Beachwood, and Island Heights Boroughs, a large portion of Toms River Township, and portions of Jackson, Manchester, Berkeley, and Lakewood Townships and Ocean Gate Borough.

Cedar Creek/Forked River/Oyster Creek Plan

Another major freshwater contributor to the bay is the 90 square mile area draining to Cedar Creek, Forked River, and Oyster Creek. This area includes large portions of Lacey and Ocean Townships as well as smaller portions of Manchester, Berkeley, and Barnegat Townships. The virtual kick-off meeting for developing the Cedar Creek/Forked River/Oyster Creek plan will be on Wednesday, September 30th at 11 a.m.

A Stakeholder Advisory Committee will be formed at each of the kick-off meetings to guide plan development from start to finish. Input from stakeholders at the community, municipal, county, and state level will ensure the plans benefit every municipality, as well as the region as a whole, both environmentally and economically.

If you have any questions about development of the plans, or would like to participate in either of the meetings, please email Ceili Pestalozzi at cpestalozzi@ocean.edu.

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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.

 

Virtual Meetings to Kick-off Development of Two New Sub-Watershed Plans

With funding provided by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the Barnegat Bay Partnership will be developing two Watershed Protection and Restoration Plans for Barnegat Bay sub-watersheds, one for Toms River and one for Cedar Creek, Forked River, and Oyster Creek. By targeting the protection and restoration of the water quality and natural resources in these sub-watersheds, the plans will benefit both local communities and the bay.

Toms River Watershed Plan

A virtual kick-off meeting for developing the Toms River sub-watershed plan will be on Tuesday, September 29th at 11 a.m. At 124 square miles, the Toms River is the largest sub-watershed of the Barnegat Bay and one of the two biggest freshwater sources to the bay. The Toms River sub-watershed includes all of Lakehurst, South Toms River, Pine Beach, Beachwood, and Island Heights Boroughs, a large portion of Toms River Township, and portions of Jackson, Manchester, Berkeley, and Lakewood Townships and Ocean Gate Borough.

Cedar Creek/Forked River/Oyster Creek Plan

Another major freshwater contributor to the bay is the 90 square mile area draining to Cedar Creek, Forked River, and Oyster Creek. This area includes large portions of Lacey and Ocean Townships as well as smaller portions of Manchester, Berkeley, and Barnegat Townships. The virtual kick-off meeting for developing the Cedar Creek/Forked River/Oyster Creek plan will be on Wednesday, September 30th at 11 a.m.

A Stakeholder Advisory Committee will be formed at each of the kick-off meetings to guide plan development from start to finish. Input from stakeholders at the community, municipal, county, and state level will ensure the plans benefit every municipality, as well as the region as a whole, both environmentally and economically.

If you have any questions about development of the plans, or would like to participate in either of the meetings, please email Ceili Pestalozzi at cpestalozzi@ocean.edu.

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toms river headwaters