The health, improvement and future of Strawbridge Lake were the topic of discussion during the workshop portion of the Sept. 22 meeting of the Moorestown Township Council meeting.
Chester Dawson, chair of the Moorestown Environmental Advisory Committee, spoke about the health of the lake and the ongoing physical, chemical, and biological testing taking place there.
“The phosphorous level is way too high, the weed growth is too high, turbidity is too high,” Dawson said.
Dawson said geese droppings from streams that feed into the lake could be causing the high phosphorous levels, which in turn cause the large amount of weeds, which, along with algae in the lake, can be treated with chemicals.
According to Dawson, light also has trouble penetrating to the bottom of the lake, resulting in low oxygen levels and only bottom-feeding fish such as catfish surviving that far down, which could be the cause of the turbidity problems with the catfish brushing up dirt.
Dawson also said that people had often asked him whether the lake would need to be dredged again, and although there were still tests to be conducted, he believed it would not be necessary.
“Right now with what we’ve seen so far, it looks like no,” Dawson said.
In Dawson’s opinion, he said the lake is not unusual compared to other shallow muddy bottom lakes in Southern New Jersey, but that still doesn’t excuse poor health.
“We shouldn’t be saying our lake is worse than others; it’s pretty typical, probably better than a lot, but that doesn’t mean we’re happy about it,” Dawson said.
Also to speak was Wolfgang Skacel, vice chair of the environmental advisory committee.
He said he saw the park as an economic engine for Moorestown, and listed some suggestions on how the park could be improved beyond the lake, such as handicap access and things of that nature.
“A lot of people that come to the park then come downtown and frequent the restaurants and stores that exist, so I think it’s in Moorestown’s best interest if it wants to be sustainable to also invest some time and energy in to looking at bringing Strawbridge Lake into the 21 centaury,” Skacel said.
Toward the end of the presentations, Deputy Mayor Stacey Jordan thanked Dawson and the environmental advisory committee for the thorough job they were doing investigating the health of the lake.
“Its encouraging just to hear that the lake is not as bad as we had been hearing…and I’ve always maintained that we have to maintain our assets. The lake is an asset to Moorestown and we need to make sure we maintain it,” Jordan said.
Councilman Phil Garwood echoed the sentiments.
“The job that the advisory committee is doing to give us whole information and good information, regardless of what that might be, good or bad, for us to make a fair decision, is invaluable,” Garwood said.
Township Manager Scott Carew said since last council meeting he had been involved in discussions with the environmental advisory committee, the township recreation director and a planning and landscape architecture group regarding possible improvements to the park that were beyond the ongoing dam repairments and water quality.
Moving forward, Carew said he wanted to approach improving the lake and park as a whole from a community standpoint, as so many different groups in Moorestown have an interest in the area.
According to Carew, that process would involve meeting with stakeholders and members of various committees and holding public meetings to get input on a potential concept plan to be presented to council.
“It’s probably not going to be a quick process to get a final plan to council, but we do see this as the final piece of the puzzle,” Carew said. “Fix the dam, fix the water quality itself, and then make the park the jewel that it can be.”
