The Development of a Restoration Plan for Greenwood Lake, NY-NJ
Based on the Lake’s Phosphorus TMDL

Fred S. Lubnow

Princeton Hydro, LLC, 1108 Old York Road, Suite 1, P.O. Box 720, Ringoes, New Jersey 08551

(908) 237-5660, (908) 237-5666, flubnow@princetonhydro.com, www.princetonhydro.com

This presentation will review the efforts that have been conducted over the last few years to develop a holistic Restoration Plan for Greenwood Lake, Passaic County, NJ – Orange County, NY.  Greenwood Lake is 1,919 acres in surface area with a mean depth of 17 ft and a maximum depth of 57 ft.  The lake is a major headwater ecosystem that feeds Monksville Reservoir, which in turn enters Wanaque Reservoir.  Nuisance algal blooms and excessive densities of submerged macrophytes have increased in severity over the last few years.  Such nuisance conditions have been attributed to elevated phosphorus loads entering the lake from a variety of sources, most being non-point source (NPS) forms of pollution.  A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) analysis for phosphorus was conducted by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and confirmed / supported by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC).  This TMDL analysis identified the existing phosphorus load and the targeted phosphorus load required to minimize water quality problems.

Subsequent to the TMDL analysis, the sources of the NPS phosphorus entering Greenwood Lake have been and are currently being categorized and prioritized for each end of the watershed.  The results of these analyses will be a Restoration Plan that serves as a “blue-print” for reducing the existing phosphorus loads to those identified as the targeted phosphorus loads.  The stormwater component of the Restoration Plan was completed for the New Jersey end of the watershed, with 319 funds provided by NJDEP to the Township of West Milford, Passaic County, NJ.  The stormwater component of the Plan for the New York end of the watershed is currently being developed with 319 funds provided by NYSDEC to the Township of Warwick, Orange County, NY.  In addition, the Greenwood Lake Commission, the bi-State agency recognized as the steward of Greenwood Lake, has been a vital and important participant in the project, overseeing the development of the Plan.  The Commission is also responsible for the long-term documentation and implementation of projects designed to attain the targeted phosphorus loads, as identified in the lake’s TMDL.