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Projects & Programs - Watershed Planning & Implementation

Strawbridge Lake Watershed
Stormwater Best Management Practices Evaluation

Purpose:
This project has been initiated by the Moorestown Environmental Advisory Committee because insufficient data have been collected to evaluate the effectiveness of the stormwater best management practices (BMPs) implemented throughout the Strawbridge Lake Watershed. The data is needed to link the cost of BMP implementation to improvements in water quality.

Objective and Scope:
Strawbridge Lake is an artificial lake created by the impoundment of the Pennsauken Creek in Moorestown, NJ. The lake consists of three basins which are separated by weirs that control the water levels in the Upper, Middle, and Lower Basins. The Strawbridge Lake Watershed is comprised of approximately 12.6 square miles of portions of the Townships of Moorestown, Evesham, and Mt. Laurel. The inputs to the lake include two tributaries, Hooten Creek and the North Branch Pennsauken Creek, as well as several storm drains dispersed throughout the three basins. The Hooten Creek tributary feeds the Upper Basin and the North Branch Pennsauken Creek feeds the Lower Basin. Runoff enters the storm drains from Rt. 38, surrounding residential neighborhoods, the Moorestown Mall and other commercial properties near the lake.

In 2001, a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) was developed for total phosphorus for Strawbridge Lake. A baseline of water quality data was used to develop this TMDL. Since the development of the TMDL, a number of BMPs have been implemented throughout the Strawbridge Lake Watershed. Insufficient data have been collected to evaluate how effective these BMPs have been at improving the water quality of Strawbridge Lake. This project will collect water quality data to better evaluate the effectiveness of these BMPs. The data are crucial to linking the cost of BMP implementation to improvements in water quality. This will provide useful information for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) as it moves forward with TMDL development and implementation.

Project Funding Source:  NJDEP Environmental Services Program

For a more detailed scope of work, click here.

Contacts:
Christopher C. Obropta, Ph.D., P.E.
Assistant Extension Specialist
Rutgers Cooperative Research & Extension
14 College Farm Road
New Brunswick, NJ 08901

Lisa Galloway Evrard
Program Associate
Rutgers Cooperative Research & Extension
14 College Farm Road
New Brunswick, NJ 08901

Project Partners:
Barbara Rich
Moorestown Environmental Advisory Committee
111 West Second Street
Moorestown, NJ 08057