Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: Stormwater Management in Highland Park Borough: The Next Step in a Sustainability Plan
EPA Grant Number: SU832496Title: Stormwater Management in Highland Park Borough: The Next Step in a Sustainability Plan
Investigators: Obropta, Christopher , Andrews, Clinton J. , Salazar, Anne , Zebrowski, Carolyn , DeMario, John , D’Egidio, Kevin , Yuan, Stephen
Institution: Rutgers
EPA Project Officer: Page, Angela
Phase: I
Project Period: September 30, 2005 through May 30, 2006
Project Amount: $10,000
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet (2005) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: P3 Challenge Area - Safe and Sustainable Water Resources , Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development , P3 Awards , Sustainable and Healthy Communities
Objective:
The Borough of Highland Park is a diverse urban community located in central New Jersey along the Raritan River. The Borough has set forth on a mission to become an environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable urban community. To this end, a committee of concerned citizens worked closely with the Rutgers University’s Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy to prepare a master plan entitled “Highland Park 2020: A Sustainable Community.” Since this master plan contains little information on stormwater best management practices (BMPs), this project focused on developing real engineering designs to retrofit the community with environmental friendly stormwater BMPs to help Highland Park move closer to their goal of sustainability. The design team isolated and addressed three very important issues with regard to the Borough of Highland Park and sustainability.
Thirty-four percent of the land in Highland Park is classified as impervious cover. Impervious cover causes several problems in urban communities. Runoff rates at peak flow times are faster since there is nothing to slow water down as it travels toward the river. Since there is no natural seepage into the ground, there are very few opportunities for groundwater recharge to occur. The lack of seepage also reduces the infiltration of stormwater, which leads to a decrease in the natural adsorption of pollutant particles to the soil. Currently, Highland Park collects stormwater as it flows downhill towards the Raritan River in catch basins and storm drains and directs it through underground pipe systems directly into the Raritan River with virtually no treatment.
The Raritan River is impaired for total phosphorus, total suspended solids, arsenic, cadmium, and zinc (NJDEP, 2004). The sources of these impairments can be linked to urban runoff. Impervious cover creates sheet flow, which picks up many NPS pollutants as it travels quickly towards the river. These pollutants come from several sources, including but not limited to: oils, dirt, chemicals, lawn fertilizers, sediments, road salt, and heavy metals. The runoff is diverted to underground conduits, where it builds momentum and speed, leading to significant erosion and a decrease in the quality of life for the natural biota of the Raritan River.
Taking into consideration the increasing stormwater regulations, Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) programs and increased environmental awareness, municipalities face the challenge to address this relatively new concept of reducing pollutants from stormwater runoff. This task is comprised of various components including new and updated regulations, retrofitting developed areas, the traditional erosion and flooding control, and public education and participation methods. This proposal incorporates both structural and non-structural methods. By the nature of BMPs, there can not be one BMP that is used in every situation. Instead, BMPs must be evaluated by taking several factors into account to determine the most appropriate fit for a particular location. These factors may include, but are not limited to, estimated pollutant removal capabilities, economics, quality and quantity standards, feasibility of construction with respect to existing soil, water table, drainage area, slope, head, geology, lifespan, cost, maintenance, aesthetic preferences, and permitting and laws. The following BMPs were designed (for each site) for the Borough of Highland Park: rain garden, cistern, green roof, pervious pavement, bioretention swale, dry well, and tree box filter. An example stormwater ordinance was also developed for the Borough.
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
Although sustainability typically is linked to “low impact development,” not retrofitting an urban center, Highland Park Borough is representative of communities nation wide, and as such offers a number of project sites may act as examples of stormwater management practices in any city. The four sites involved in the project are selected to represent a wide range of areas where BMPs can be implemented. These sites include a public park along a Raritan River that receives stormwater runoff from a residential section of the Borough, a typical residential block of single family homes, an area of multi-family apartments and a public elementary school. Donaldson Park experiences flooding due to inadequate stormwater control and is a non-point source (NPS) pollution issue. Throughout Highland Park, both single and multi family dwellings do not have any stormwater management practices to control flooding or the impact of stormwater runoff. The school is representative of any large public institution with a significant percentage of impervious surfaces that prevents groundwater recharge, enhances stormwater water runoff volumes and promotes NPS pollution.
These sites were examined as they currently exist, taking note of the runoff and groundwater recharge conditions and their effects on the Raritan River. Simultaneously, BMPs were designed for each of the sites to address water quantity and water quality problems. A balance of both functions as stormwater management as well as natural and aesthetic preservation is the key to all proposed solutions.
In addition to the BMP designs, a two-tiered stormwater management ordinance was developed for this project to require stormwater controls for all development that could impact the water resources of the community. This ordinance requires the us of non-structural BMP's and other Low Impact Development Techniques to encourage environmentally sensitive site design for new development, redevelopment and expansions of existing homes and businesses. Effective on Febuary 2, 2004, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has adopted stormwater management regulations that put tight restrictions on "major development", meaning any project in which one acre or more of land is disturbed, or where impervious coverage is increased by 0.25 acres or more. As most properties within the borough fall far beneath this threshold, the goal was to design a body of regulations applicable to properties over 5000 sq. ft. in area, and that would cover the vast majority of properties in Highland Park.
Conclusions:
In order to achieve sustainability in stormwater management, traditional routing practices need to be closely analyzed for the effect on water quality, water quantity and groundwater recharge. Stormwater Best Management Practices is the best attempt to simulate natural processes in urban areas. The five sites that have been targeted for design implementation are representative of areas contributing the largest negative impact to sustainable water resources in urban communities.
Supplemental Keywords:
Best Management Practices, BMP’s, swale, cistern, green roof, ordinance, bioretention, Highland Park, RFA, Scientific Discipline, Sustainable Industry/Business, Sustainable Environment, Civil/Environmental Engineering, Technology for Sustainable Environment, Ecology and Ecosystems, pollutant discharge elimination system, green design, sustainable development, urban planning, environmental sustainability, conservation, engineering, environmentally conscious design, stormwater managementRelevant Websites:
Rutgers Cooperative Extension Water Resources Program Exit
NJDEP New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Exit
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.