The Preakness Brook Restoration and Protection Project

Richard R. Pardi (1), Michael Sebetich (2) Russell Furnari (3)

(1)Department of Environmental Science William Paterson University, Wayne, New Jersey 07470,
973-270-2721, 973-720-2338, pardir@wpunj.edu

(2) Department of Biology,William Paterson University sedbetichm@wpunj.edu

(3)Public Service Gas & Electric and the Lower Passaic and Saddle River Alliance

Preakness Brook is the major stream within the Township of Wayne, Passaic County, New Jersey.  Its watershed is almost entirely within the boundaries of the Township.  In its upper reaches, near its headwater on Preakness Mountain Preakness Brook is considered a trout-maintenance (C1) stream, one of the highest classifications that can be given to a stream in New Jersey.  Segments of Preakness Brook further downstream have been identified as impaired by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the NJ Department of Environmental Protection.  The impairments include fecal coliform bacteria and habitat decline as indicated by increases in pollution-tolerant macroinvertebrate species.  The source of pollution is thought to be widely distributed (non-point source).  As such, attempts to mitigate and restore the stream to as close to a natural state as possible come under the purview of the Clean Water Act, section 319h.

William Paterson University is the grantee for a NJDEP funded non-point source pollution project to restore and protect Preakness Brook.  The Township of Wayne, along with the Lower Passaic and Saddle River Watershed Alliance are major partners in the project.  William Paterson’s primary role will be to collect and assess water quality data along the length of the stream.  These studies began during the spring of 2006 and continue into the fall and winter of 2006/2007.

Besides monitoring fecal coliform concentrations in stream water at several localities and quantifying habitat impairment through macroinvertebrate surveys, William Paterson University faculty and students will measure stream discharge (flow), nutrient levels and other common water quality variables at several sites along the length of the Brook.  In addition, we will be applying state-of-the-art biotechnology methodology to establish the source of measured coliform bacteria.