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def # 218 11/30/11

NUTRIENT REMOVAL PART OF NEXT GENERATION OF STORM BASINS

TOMS RIVER - Following the design work and extensive review, Ocean County Freeholders are ready to take the next step in renovating and upgrading eight existing stormwater detention basins in order to remove nutrients before they can enter the Barnegat Bay.

"These renovations are really the next level of stormwater management being required by the DEP," said Freeholder John P. Kelly, Director of Law and Public Safety. "In the 1970s, basins were designed for flood control. In the 1990s, we began addressing water quality like removing trash and sediments from stormwater. Now this next step deals with nutrient removal."

The Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders will seek contractors to renovate eight detention basins " seven of which are located in Toms River and focus on the Toms River watershed and the other in Lacey Township addressing the Forked River. The renovations are expected to improve removal of nutrients, in particular 8,000 pounds of nitrogen will be removed annually.

The total cost of the new basins is expected to be about $7.5 million and will be paid for by a combination of grants and low interest loans from the state Department of Environmental Protection and the state Environmental Infrastructure Trust.

"We are closely working with the state to continue efforts to improve the water quality of Barnegat Bay," said Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari, who serves as liaison to the Barnegat Bay Partnership. "Ocean County continues to make a substantial investment in keeping the bay clean, now working with the state and the Governor’s 10 point plan we are embarking on several projects to update detention basins."

The Freeholders recently approved fronting the money for the projects under two bonding ordinances introduced at their Oct. 5 meeting.

Ocean County expects to receive $9.1 million from the state. Of that $4.9 million will be grant money and the remainder will be in deferred low interest loans which also provides $1.6 million for the acquisition of a vacuum cleaner/sewer jet truck and three new street sweepers.

"Ocean County will appropriate the funds in anticipation of payment from the state," said Freeholder John C. Bartlett Jr. "This is all part of the process and will help advance the work allowing us to complete the renovations by the end of 2012."

Freeholder James F. Lacey, who serves as liaison to the Ocean County Road Department, noted the renovations will be made to basins already located on county property.

"These upgrades will include the installation of a series of perforated pipes, the planting of wetland plants, and ultimately creating manmade wetlands which will help capture the nutrients keeping them from entering the bay," Lacey said. "This is the first time this is being done and each location is unique."

The renovations will be made at detention basins in Toms River on Sunset Avenue, at Toms River High School East, at Todd Road, and on Vermont Avenue, along with three sites on the Ocean County College campus off of Hooper Avenue. The work in Lacey Township will take place at the Hoyt Street detention basin.

When determining which detention basins would be renovated and upgraded, the Ocean County Engineering Department looked for basins that were not in close proximity to residential properties and were a little more remote and providing the proper geotechnical conditions.

"We looked at areas that were not already wetlands nor did they have endangered or threatened species," said Kelly, who serves as liaison to the Ocean County Engineering Department. "We looked at what had the most potential to remove the most amount of nitrogen and was the most cost effective."

Ocean County Engineer Frank Scarantino said his department working with consultants had to translate a one-acre pilot project conducted by the University of New Hampshire to a much larger scaled project that would provide the best outcome for Ocean County.

"We took this model and translated it to a real life scale," Scarantino said. "Some of these projects include hundreds of acres of watershed."

The County anticipates that contracts will be awarded in January 2012 and work on the renovations would begin shortly thereafter. Work on all of the eight basins is expected to be substantially complete by the end of 2012.

"Ocean County has been in the forefront in taking steps to keep Barnegat Bay the treasure that it is," said Freeholder Deputy Director Gerry P. Little. "And again we are the ones to take the first steps in implementing new techniques that will begin to remove nutrients from stormwater keeping them out of the bay."