Deal Lake has always been a popular
spot for boating, fishing and other recreational activities.
However, in recent years the lake's water quality has been severely
impacted by phosphorus, nitrogen, sediment, fecal coliform and a
variety of street litter known as "floatables." These pollutants
originate from many diverse sources in the lake's watershed. These
include soil from construction activities, litter and motor oil from
roads and highways, waste from geese and dogs and fertilizers from
lawns. After it rains or snows, these materials are carried by
stormwater runoff into Deal Lake, either from the shoreline or
through one of the numerous storm drains that empties directly into
the lake.
Princeton Hydro, the project's lead
technical consultant, is currently conducting water quality
monitoring in the main lake and its tributary streams, including
Hollow Brook and Harvey Brook. The company's scientists are testing
the water for nutrients (total phosphorus, soluble reactive
phosphorus and nitrate-nitrogen), which can fuel algae and aquatic
weed growth; total suspended solids, which give the water a murky
appearance and can lead to infilling of the lake through
sedimentation; and fecal bacteria (fecal coliforms and fecal
streptococci), which are found in human and animal waste and may
indicate the presence of pathogenic (disease-causing) bacteria,
viruses and protozoans that also live in human and animal digestive
systems.
Preliminary results from the
monitoring program indicate elevated levels of total phosphorus and
fecal bacteria that sometimes exceed state standards, both in the
main body of the lake and its tributary streams. In addition,
excessive amounts of sediment and "floatables" have been observed
throughout the watershed, and may be entering the water body through
storm drains that lack any kind of filter or treatment system (and
in some cases don't even have a grate covering the opening of the
storm drain). However, further analysis must be completed before a
full picture of Deal Lake's current water quality can be seen.
In addition, Leon S. Avakian, Inc.,
the project's environmental engineer, and the other project partners
are compiling information about the watershed's stormwater system
(including identification of all storm sewers that drain into the
lake and its tributary streams); updating watershed maps to reflect
recent development; and calculating the pollutant loads originating
from different parts of the watershed. All of this information will
be used to identify and prioritize stormwater problems in the
watershed and develop recommended solutions.
