Wreck Pond restoration phase two begins

Structural and ecological enhancements for Wreck Pond form the center of the second phase of restoration that's expected to alleviate surrounding communities of longstanding flooding and water quality problems.

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Bob Martin announced the start of phase two along with the American Littoral Society, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, local elected officials and Representative Chris Smith (R-4)

Construction of an outfall to handle ocean tidal flows is on the schedule, along with ecosystems created from dredge material and native plants, according to information released today by DEP.

Wreck Pond occupies 13 square miles in parts of Wall Township, Spring Lake, Spring Lake Heights, and Sea Girt.

Governor Christie announced the $7,400,000 project in Spring Lake in July 2015. Funding, in part, stems from a $3,850,000 federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant and $608,000 from DEP's Corporate Business Tax program.

The American Littoral Society oversees a $2,000,000 grant funneled through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from the federal Department of the Interior. Spring Lake contributes $915,000 gained from sale of three properties.

The waterway is to be equipped with living shorelines, which encompass natural vegetation plantings and shellfish to create habitats capable of flood reduction as alternatives to bulkheads. The outfall is to be built to allow fish into the lake for spawning in its tributaries.

Native grass plantings are to be the foundations for low-marsh and high-marsh zones, aimed at maintaining shoreline stability, creating habitats for marine life, and filtering stormwater runoff.

Sand and silt obtained from channel-deepening dredging is to be used for vegetated berms in low-lying spots on the northern shore, the north branch of Wreck Pond Brook (Black Creek) and the south shore in Sea Girt.

Plantings in the berms will include bayberry, Virginia rose and groundsel tree, along with a mixture of other native vegetation.

DEP, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has also driven improvements for Lake Fletcher, Lake Como, Lake Takanassee, Lake Wesley, Sylvan Lake and Deal Lake.