Barnegat Bay Feasibility Study - May 2000
Creators: name: No Name Supplied
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Year: 2000

description: The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the U.S. House of Representatives, in Docket 2462 adopted on 15 September 1995, requested the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to conduct a study of the Barnegat Bay estuary and surrounding areas for identifying possible improvements in the areas of ecosystem restoration and protection. The project which is evaluated in this Early Action Report (EAR)/Environmental Assessment (EA) is part of the larger Barnegat Bay Ecosystem Restoration Study. Returning anadromous and catadromous fish to their historic ranges is a national, regional, and local goal and is supported by many resource agencies, including Federal, State, and Local agencies involved with management of Barnegat Bay. In consideration of this goal, preliminary investigations identified Lake Pohatcong Dam on Tuckerton Creek and Manahawkin Lake Dam on Mill Creek as impediments to passage of river herring. Lake Pohatcong Dam is 1.8 miles upstream of Little Egg Harbor (Barnegat Bay). Manahawkin Lake Dam is 3.2 miles upstream of Little Egg Harbor. The study of ecosystem restoration potential at these sites began with baseline investigations of fisheries resources at Lake Pohatcong and Manahawkin Lake Dams during the spring and summer of 1999. These studies indicated that there is ample potential river herring habitat above the dams, water quality is adequate, and there are possible limitations in food sources. It should be noted that lake inflows were historically low during both seasons; this may have impacted the data. Subsequent plan formulation involved the development of environmental and technical criteria for these sites, identification of both structural and environmental options, and an incremental analysis of all possible alternatives to identify a selected plan which provides the greatest habitat improvement per dollar spent on implementation.For Lake Pohatcong Dam fish passage, it is recommended that a steeppass ladder and eelway be installed and that the lake be stocked with river herring for four years in order to allow for sufficient imprinting by the fish. It is also recommended that the fish population, water quality and zooplankton be monitored. State and Federal agencies agree that this solution would result in the highest environmental returns, the longest project life, and the least amount of maintenance. The existing project data for Manahawkin Lake indicates very low density of zooplankton, which is the fisheries' primary food source. This suggests that the lake may not support a herring fishery and providing fish passage would be inadvisable at this time. However, additional baseline studies should be conducted and if the 1999 data was an anomaly, the Manahawkin Lake project may prove to be feasible. Therefore, a selected design has been identified in the EAR. If installation of fish passage at Manahawkin Dam becomes feasible, stocking and monitoring of the fish population should follow. The total estimated present worth cost for the modifications, including real estate, PED, S&amp;A, stocking at time of construction and monitoring, is $746,600 for Lake Pohatcong Dam. If constructed, the total estimated cost for the modifications, including real estate, PED, S&amp;A, stocking and monitoring, is $638,200 for Manahawkin Lake Dam.