Winter on the Preakness Brook, Land Use and Nitrate Concentrations for October 2005 to April 2006
Kevin K. Olsen
Chemistry and Biochemistry, Montclair State University, Richardson Hall, Montclair, New Jersey, 07043,
973-655-4076, 973-655-7772, OlsenK@Mail.Montclair.Edu, http://blake.montclair.edu/~olsenk/
Nitrate concentrations were measured on multiple sampling points for the Preakness Brook in Wayne Township, Passaic County. This brook is an ideal demonstration for the principles of non-point source pollution because within the borders of one community it flows southward from an undeveloped mountain park, through partially developed parkland, suburban areas, past a golf course, and finally through an industrial park.
Mean nitrate concentrations for the study period were 3.7 ppm for Barbour Pond (partially developed parkland), 7.2 ppm at Laauwe Ave (suburban), and 7.4 ppm at the Edison Drive Bridge (industrial park, downstream from the Passaic County golf course and the suburban sample points).
The nitrate concentrations do not increase linearly with distance from the brook’s source but rise dramatically in the suburban landscape between the John F. Kennedy (JFK) Elementary School and the Laauwe Avenue sample points. Between these points a channelized watercourse near Valley Road and Augusta Drive, has nitrate concentrations in the 7 to 8 ppm range. The nitrate concentrations downstream of Laauwe Avenue continue to rise slightly as additional feeder streams enter into the main watercourse.
The highest nitrate concentrations were measured at Tintle Park, just downstream of a junction with a feeder stream (6.8 to 8.3 ppm). Possibly because of dilution by water from the county golf course, a slight decrease in nitrate concentrations has often been observed at the next sample point, Edison Drive.
The distribution of nitrates in the brook raises questions for future research. There appears to be little or no nitrate addition from the county golf course. There are three possible reasons for this, limited fertilizer applications during the fall and winter, the presence of a wooded buffer zone between the fairways and the brook, or a drainage pattern that carries runoff toward ponds in the center of the course. The stretch of brook between the JFK School and Laauwe Avenue is largely separated from the surrounding neighborhood by a wooded buffer zone but any beneficial effects of this zone may be undermined by one or more factors such as storm water drains running directly to the brook, tributary streams with high nitrate concentrations, houses erected where there are gaps in the buffer zone, or unlawful dumping of yard wastes in the wooded areas.