Sustainable Monroe Township will work hand-in-hand with Rutgers University and the Great Egg Harbor Watershed Association to improve impervious cover.
It was announced at last Monday’s council meeting that Sustainable Monroe Township was granted $10,000 in federal funding and $5,000 from Rutgers University to work with the Great Egg Harbor Watershed Association. Patrick McDevitt from Sustainable Monroe Township was enthusiastic when talking about the opportunity.
“We saw Rutgers working all over the state so I made some inquiries,” McDevitt explained. “Luckily I was able to hook up with Fred Akers [from Great Egg Harbor Watershed Association] and he was able to access some funding to get Rutgers down here to do a project in Monroe.”
Akers went on to explain the specifics of the grant. Akers was able to come up with $10,000 in federal funding that will go to his organization first. He was then able to contact Chris Obropta from Rutgers who matched with $5,000 to have a total of $15,000 for the project.
There are three parts to the project. The first part is an impervious cover assessment, a land operation that uses geographic information systems and mapping to measure how much impervious cover there is. The impervious cover is any surface in the landscape that cannot effectively absorb rainfall.
The second part of the project is the impervious cover reduction plan. The idea is to plan a way to reduce the impervious cover. Akers described it devising a plan to get water into the ground instead of it running off.
The final step includes green infrastructure projects. Akers gave an example of the final step: “If we get the water into the ground by implementing some green infrastructure, whether it be a rain garden, stormwater basin enhancement, or some other measure, Chris Obropta will calculate the value of that in terms of sediment removal and water into the ground. Chris will be able to put a value on it and cost out the project.”
McDevitt was excited to bring this opportunity to the Monroe Township Council.
“It’s going to be a benefit for stormwater management and green infrastructure,” he said. “In addition, implementing these practices will benefit our aquifer and reduce stormwater runoff. On the residential side, we plan to do some education on rain barrels, rain gardens, and better watering practices that will help as well.”
In other news:
- A traffic study to consider a stoplight on Stanger Avenue and Fries Mill Road will be postponed until after the day-care center is up and running. There is only one way out of “The Ridings” development, and some residents are concerned the day-care center that is being built in that area will bring too much traffic in an area that is already bottlenecked.
