To the Editor, Asbury Park Sun,
In response to Mr. Marty Martino’s Letter to the Editor “is Deal Lake still contaminated;” The simple answer is NO, Deal Lake is NOT contaminated.
Although the lake appears on the State’s 303D list of impaired water, this is no different than the vast majority of New Jersey’s other lakes, including Lake Hopatcong and Greenwood Lake.
Does that mean NJ’s Largest Coastal Lake should be avoided for boating, fishing, bird watching and overall recreational enjoyment? The answer is NO.
I along with many other DLC commissioners enjoy Deal Lake Year round, fishing, boating, kayaking, and ice skating. The NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife routinely stocks the lake with various game fish. Per the Fish and Wildlife, “New Jersey offers more than 400 publicly accessible lakes, ponds and reservoirs. These waters offer a great diversity of fishing opportunities, from abundant populations of pan fish to trophy-sized game fish.”
The DLC is proud to say Deal Lake is one of these fine public accessible lakes. Herring are again pouring into Deal Lake from the ocean. If you are a bird watcher I’m sure you have noticed that there has been a dramatic rise in birds of prey, great blue herons and other wading birds frequenting the lake in the past few years to feast on our fish.
There have been many actions taken by the DLC and the surrounding seven communities to improve the over water quality, enhance its fishery, decrease stormwater impacts and increase flood protection and storm resiliency. The DLC’s actions are well documented on our website. We are very proud of our recently completed $1.6 million dredging project on the eastern end of the lake.
The Ocean Township Sewer Authority recently completed the replacement of two 100-year-old sewer mains that crossed the lake and they have been repairing pipelines throughout the system. Our latest cleanup effort, involving over 60 volunteers removed almost 3,000 pounds of debris from the lake. Additionally, since 2011, with funding obtained through the state’s 319(h) program, we have implemented a number of projects around the lake to decrease the inflow of sediment, floatables, bacteria and nutrients into the lake.
All of these measures improve the water quality of the lake. Our efforts were recognized by the North American Lake Management Society in the form of a Technical Excellence award. So we have been actively engaged with the State and our member municipalities in work to improve the status of the lake.
I have asked the DLC environmental consultant, Dr. Stephen Souza, of Princeton Hydro, LLC, to prepare a formal reply to Marty’s concerns and others in the public that maybe concerned with the headline. His full response will be forth coming.
No organization is perfect and neither is the DLC and we do recognize that the report Mr Martino referred to is not on our web page. That will be corrected. The DLC will discuss the physical posting of the NJDEP’s fishing advisory at selected locations around the lake.
Further discussions with the NJDEP revealed they have a handout, “A Healthy Way to Properly Clean and Cook Carp” http://www.nj.gov/dep/dsr/fishadvisories/baby-eats-english-2012.pdf, WE will also share this.
In the coming weeks you’ll be reading some great news from the DLC. We have been working hard on obtaining additional funding for Lake Improvements from flooding resiliency to water quality.
Deal Lake is a wonderful natural resource for all of New Jersey, come out and enjoy the water from a boat or while fishing, bird watching, or taking in the views from our shorelines.
Don Brockel,
Chairman
Deal Lake Commission
[Photos courtesy of Deal Lake Commission]
[This letter represents the opinion of its writer and is not representative of any opinion of the Asbury Park Sun staff. All readers are welcome to submit Letters to the Editor to news@asburyparksun.com for our consideration. For guidelines on letter-writing and submission, click here.]
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