For Immediate Release:

November 1, 2011

 

County begins sediment removal at Wreck Pond

Material will have beneficial re-use at county Reclamation Center

 

WALL, NJ – Monmouth County embarked on a sediment removal project today at Wreck Pond. The work, begun on the west side of Route 71, will serve as a pilot project for future sediment control operations in other areas of Wreck Pond and elsewhere in the county.

 

This project, which is expected to be completed within 2½ months, aims to improve the water quality and aesthetics of the pond. It will accomplish this by trapping sediment before it reaches the main portion of Wreck Pond on the east side of Route 71.

 

“The county is embarking on this important sediment removal operation not only for its beneficial impact on the environment, but to help with flood mitigation,” Freeholder Director Robert D. Clifton said. “The southern end of Spring Lake gets hit hard with flooding during major storms, and this and other similar future projects will mitigate the effects of those storms on nearby properties.”

 

The Wreck Pond Watershed begins with headwaters on Route 34 and ends at the Atlantic Ocean. It is home to many wildlife species, including a large Purple Martin colony. The habitat is also vital to a number of endangered species, including the Piping Plover and Least Terns, plus plants and fish.

 

Plans are to remove 4,250 cubic yards of sediment. The need to remove it was first identified in the 2008 Wreck Pond Watershed Regional Stormwater Management Plan. Recommendations in that plan include the installation of sediment traps, or manufactured storm scepters, to improve the water quality of Wreck Pond and remove sediment upstream from the main portion of Wreck Pond.

 

Using state funding, the county installed 14 manufactured storm scepters at strategic locations around Wreck Pond and its feeder streams to collect sediment before it reached the pond. That project was completed last year. A second phase is to remove sediment and build a sediment basin.

 

“The area where we are working was considered to be an ideal place to not only remove sediment but to build a sediment basin to collect material generated upstream,” said Freeholder Deputy Director John P. Curley, liaison to the county’s Department of Public Works and Engineering. “The idea is to minimize the amount of sediment from reaching the main portion of Wreck Pond east of Route 71.”  

 

This work is being performed as a pilot project in conjunction with state Department of Environmental Protection, Curley said

 

“The county has the ability to remove sediment from this water body due to its experience and resources, and this is another great example of shared services,” Arnone said. “Sediment basins have been built before, but every waterway is different. We are going to see how building one upstream impacts the main portion of the pond and report our results to the DEP.”

 

The work will not only have a positive effect on the watershed’s ecosystem, but will assist in mitigating flooding situations like the one that occurred as a result of Hurricane Irene.

 

“Removing sediment and creating a basin to trap future sediment increases the capacity of Wreck Pond and enhances the aesthetics of the pond, which is adjacent to preserved open space,” Freeholder Lillian G. Burry said. “One of the problems of a large hurricane or nor ’easter is the water has nowhere to go. It is hoped the added capacity will reduce the chances of flooding.”

 

Officials will be using this project to measure the best way to remove the sediment. Due to the good quality of the material that will be removed from the pond, it will be transported to the Monmouth County Reclamation Center in Tinton Falls, where it will have a beneficial re-use as landfill cover.

 

“Tests show that the sediment is a good candidate for beneficial re-use,” Freeholder Amy A. Mallet said. “Before we transport  it to the landfill we will be studying various method of getting it there. This project is extremely beneficial to the environment and well-being of all residents in this area.”

 

The county will be doing all of the work in-house, which helped expedite the project. This will result in a tremendous savings to the residents of Wall Township, Sea Girt, Spring Lake and Spring Lake Heights and, in fact, all residents of Monmouth County.

 

The project team is comprised of John W. Tobia, director of the county Department of Public Works and Engineering, Matt Rutkowski, principal engineer, Turner Shell, environmental specialist in the county Division of Planning, Ron Boyce III, supervisor of construction crew, and Gary Fread, general supervisor in the county Division of Highway.

 

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