| New Jersey Section of American Water Resources Association (NJ-AWRA) |
The New Jersey Section of the American Water Resources Association (NJ-AWRA) |
Lake Carasaljo Stormwater Improvements
Primary Partners: Brick Township MUA, Maser Consulting, P.A., and the Township of Lakewood
Location: Lakewood, Ocean County, New Jersey
The Metedeconk River, located in Monmouth and Ocean Counties serves as an important regional source of water supply for the Brick Township MUA which provides drinking water to the Township of Brick and several surrounding municipalities. The river is classified as a Category One (C1) waterway and is a major tributary to the Barnegat Bay, one of the 28 Congressionally-designated estuaries in USEPA's National Estuary Program. The Metedeconk Watershed Plan, completed in 2013, identifies stormwater runoff from developed areas as the primary cause of river water quality impairments and streamflow changes that increase flooding potential. Plan implementation is underway to improve stormwater management regionally. A key focus is retrofitting antiquated stormwater infrastructure serving existing developments using Stormwater BMP/ Green Infrastructure approaches to restore groundwater recharge, reduce runoff, and improve water quality. This project focuses on 6 existing direct stormwater outfalls around Lake Carasaljo along North Lake Drive and South Lake Drive in Lakewood. The area immediately surrounding Lake Carasaljo is characterized by medium to high density residential developments containing antiquated sewer infrastructure. Lake Carasaljo is affected by water quality impairments including pathogens, and fecal and total coliform. At each of the 6 locations, simple and modular urban bioretention system BMPs were implemented to reduce nonpoint source loading to the Lake. The bioretention systems were designed to be passive systems to capture the "first flush" of stormwater runoff and allow excess runoff from larger storms to be directed to the original conveyance system.
Additional Resources: