Non-tidal Watershed Protection Plan NJDEP Division of Water Monitoring and Standards

Overview Monitoring The Department of Environmen- The Non-tidal Raritan River Watershed Protection Plancoupled with the The NJDEP will focus resources on the tal Protection’s (NJDEP) water quality stand- Raritan Water Region (Watershed ards, monitoring, and assessment programs Raritan TMDL articulate the strategy that the NJDEP has set in place to Management Areas 8, 9 and 10) in the 2016 provide the scientific foundation for restora- restore, maintain protect Integrated Report (and again in 2026), to tion and protection of New Jersey’s water re- and water quality assess attainment of standards and evaluate sources. The Department has implemented a trends in both impaired and unimpaired rotating basin approach that will produce a within the non-tidal Raritan River basin. waters. comprehensive assessment of the entire State every ten years, focusing on the Raritan Approach Implementation Water Region in the 2016 New Jersey Inte- Concurrent with the NJDEP’s focus on the Raritan Water Region for the 2016 assess- grated Water Quality Assessment Report “EPA recognizes that the best approaches [to achieve improvements in water quality] will ment, the Non-tidal Raritan River Watershed Protection Plan (WPP) provides a collab- (Integrated Report). A broad range of stake- entail States, federal agencies, conservation districts, private landowners and other stake- orative watershed-scale approach to bring together the many ongoing and new ac- holders, including watershed associations, holders working collaboratively to develop watershed-scale plans that target the most tions being implemented, simultaneously protecting unimpaired waters while restor- governmental organizations and universities, effective practices to the acres that need it most.” (EPA, March 2011) ing impaired waters. Protection can be a critical component of successful restoration. have demonstrated long-term commitment Restoration and protection efforts helped delist five of the non-tidal Raritan’s subwater- to lead, engage in, and implement projects to shed/parameter combinations in 2012 that were previously on the 303(d) list of impaired achieve water quality improvement and pro- TMDL Allocations’ Relationship to Protected Subwatersheds waterbodies. The WPP aims to expand these positive results using a combination of regula- tection in the Raritan Water Region. The WPP is built upon the data, modeling results, and research generated for the tory and non-regulatory tools that include load reductions of wastewater discharges; storm- Total Maximum Daily Load Report for the Non-Tidal Raritan River Basin, which was water controls; protection and restoration of riparian zones; reduction of runoff from agri- approved by EPA in 2016. The TMDL Report established wasteload allocations cultural land use; stewardship; and restoration projects and plans. (WLAs) for all point sources and load allocations (LAs) for nonpoint sources. Most of the point sources (44 of the 47 discharges) addressed by the TMDL are within and/or Restoration Projects and Plans upstream of the protected subwatersheds, therefore these load reductions provide Approved watershed-based plans in the non- assurance of protection of the existing water quality in unimpaired waters. tidal Raritan that implement Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs): Two subwatersheds that are protected for both total phosphorus (TP) and total • Cedar Grove Brook Watershed suspended solids (TSS) were selected to illustrate how the unimpaired subwatersheds • Delaware and Raritan Canal • Mulhockaway Creek are protected by the TMDL load reductions. The model was run to simulate the in- • Neshanic River Watershed stream TP concentration for two month timeframes and the results are shown below. Public Participation • Pleasant Run and Holland Brook The simulated TP concentration reflects the planned reductions which will be • Sidney Brook Watershed The NJDEP has maintained a long-term achieved through the implementation of the TMDL. These reductions will improve • Sourland Mountain Watershed commitment to the stakeholder process and and maintain existing water quality in the unimpaired subwatersheds within the Currently funded projects that address NPS: public participation in the Raritan River Study Area of Non-tidal Raritan River watershed. In these examples, which are representative of the protected 1 • Statewide Volunteer Monitoring Program basin, beginning with the NJDEP’s watershed Watershed Protection Plan subwatersheds, the model predicts that TP concentrations are lowered after • Restoration of the initiative that began in the fall of 2000, implementation of the TMDL, resulting in water quality that is improved from the Watershed1, to install green infrastructure continued through the development and existing condition and below the water quality standard of 0.1 mg/l. and educational signage and to monitor adoption of the Raritan TMDL in 2016, and effectiveness through the biennial integrated assessment Simulation result of TP 2 • Stormwater Basin Retrofits in Franklin Twp of water quality. Continuing stakeholder TMDL reduction (red) in 2 involvement will ensure that future water comparison to modeled in- • Raritan Agricultural Mini-Grants 2,3,4,5 stream TP concentration • Implement Neshanic Watershed Plan including River-friendly Programs, green protection and restoration actions are (black) within HUC infrastructure and a Comprehensive Targeted Agricultural Assistance Program tailored to the unique circumstances of the 3 02030105050030 • Neshanic River Watershed Agricultural and Stormwater Alternatives , including watersheds within the Raritan Water Region. (Lamington R (Furnace Rd to agricultural BMPs, bioretention BMPs, and restoration projects at Dvoor Farm Hillside Rd)) 4 • Implement Raritan River TMDL to design and implement green infrastructure BMPs 6 • Restoration along Holland Brook and Pleasant Run including green infrastructure BMPs and partnering with NRCS Contact Information Simulation result of TP 7 • Implement Stormwater Mgmt. in the Back Brook Headwaters to implement a series of TMDL reduction (red) in NJDEP, Division of Water Monitoring & Standards comparison to modeled in- rain gardens and grass swales 8 Bureau of Environmental Analysis, Restoration & stream TP concentration • Royce Brook BMP Implementation to install rain gardens and infiltration structures Standards (black) within HUC 1 • Implement TMDL in the Watershed to develop Impervious Cover Phone: 609-633-1441 02030105070010 (Raritan R NB (Rt 28 to Lamington R)) Assessments (ICAs) and Reduction Action Plans (RAPs) for 16 municipalities and to install Kimberly Cenno, Bureau Chief

green infrastructure BMPs [email protected] 4 • Implementation of the Raritan River TMDL , for installation of green infrastructure and Frank Klapinski, Environmental Scientist educational signage and for effectiveness monitoring [email protected]

Grantees: 1 Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association (SBMWA); 2 New Jersey Water Supply Authority (NJWSA); 3 North Deborah Kratzer, Environmental Specialist The report will be available under the Raritan tab at Jersey Resource Conservation and Development Program (RC&D); 4 Rutgers Water Resources Program; 5 New Jersey Institute of [email protected] Technology (NJIT); 6 Readington Township; 7 East Amwell Township; 8 Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Somerset County http://www.nj.gov/dep/wms/bears/assessment.htm