Projects & Programs - Watershed Planning & Implementation

Regional Stormwater Management Plan for Troy Brook,
Morris County, New Jersey

Project Funding Source:
 NJDEP 319(h)

The Troy Brook Regional Stormwater Management Plan (RSWMP) is a project that assesses the water quality, water quantity and groundwater recharge issues related to the management of stormwater in this watershed. Regional stormwater management planning is a water resource management strategy that identifies and develops solutions to problems that can be managed most effectively on a regional basis. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has recognized the importance of regional planning and has identified the steps that need to be taken. These steps are outlined in N.J.A.C. 7:8-3.5.

The region of the Troy Brook Watershed includes parts of three municipalities: Mountain Lakes, Parsippany-Troy Hills and Hanover Township, all within Morris County. Maps found in the following documents illustrate the coverage of the watershed, along with other valuable information.

Performed in steps, or “Milestones,” the plan begins with the formation of a committee and the selection of a Lead Planning Agency (LPA) (Milestone 1). The committee appointed the Whippany River Management Group to be the Lead Planning Agency. The LPA is a uniting factor for the plan and will be seeing the plan through until adoption and implementation.

Milestone 2 is the Characterization and Assessment (C&A) of the Troy Brook Watershed. This effort included reviewing existing water quality data, collecting macroinvertebrate data at eight stations throughout the watershed, conducting stream visual assessments, reviewing engineering drawings of existing development and stormwater facilities, and a review of NJDEP’s GIS data for the watershed. Hydrologic and hydraulic models of this watershed were also performed.

Milestone 3 is a compilation of the issues determined to be of priority in the watershed. These issues were determined through the process of creating the Characterization and Assessment, field surveys, and meetings with engineers, the RSWMP committee and interested residents of the watershed. The purpose of this step is to set “drainage area-specific water quality, groundwater recharge and water quantity objectives”, in accordance with 7:8-3.5.

Milestone 4 identifies stormwater management strategies that will address the stormwater management of new and existing development and the drainage area-specific objectives that were determined in Milestone 3.

Links to the draft reports of Milestones 2, 3 and 4 can be found below, as well as engineering drawings. The Water Resources Program is working closely with NJDEP, the Whippany River Management Group and all interested parties to ensure a complete, functional plan that will improve the management of the stormwater in the Troy Brook Watershed.

Deliverables to Date:

Chapter 1, Milestone 1: Troy Brook Regional Stormwater Management Plan Committee Members

Chapter 2, Milestone 2: DRAFT - Characterization and Assessment of the Regional Stormwater Management Planning Area for the Troy Brook Watershed

Chapter 3, Milestone 3: DRAFT - Drainage Area Specific Water Quality, Quantity, and Recharge Objectives

Chapter 4, Milestone 4A: DRAFT - Troy Brook Regional Stormwater Management Plan, Part A: Applicable Provisions

Chapter 5, Milestone 4B: DRAFT - Troy Brook Regional Stormwater Management Plan, Part B: Supplemental Provisions

Engineering Drawings:

Engineering Drawing 1: Tivoli Gardens: Roof and Parking Lot Drainage Concept Plans

Engineering Drawing 2: Example of 20% disconnection for Route 202/Route 46 Shopping Center

Engineering Drawing 3: Route 287: Highway Stormwater Management Concept Plans

Engineering Drawing 4: Public Works Building and Paris Place Constructed Wetlands Concept Plans

Engineering Drawing 5: Morris Corporate Park: Infliltration Basin Improvements Concept Plans

Contacts:
Christopher C. Obropta, Ph.D., P.E.
Associatet Extension Specialist
Rutgers Cooperative Research & Extension
14 College Farm Road
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
848-932-5711, obropta@envsci.rutgers.edu

Project Partners:
• Whippany River Watershed Action Committee
• Parsippany-Troy Hills Township (member of the Action Committee)
• Mountain Lakes Borough (member of the Action Committee)
• Hanover Township (member of the Action Committee)
• TRC Omni Environmental Corporation (TRC Omni)


Water Resources Program  at Rutgers NJAES