The Deal Lake 2010 319(h) Implementation Project Final Report
The Deal Lake
2010 319(h) Implementation Project
Final Report
Grant # RP10-088
Deal Lake is the largest of the State’s Coastal Lakes. With a history extending back into the 1800s, Deal Lake has provided a variety of recreational opportunities to the surrounding community. Although the lake continues to be a community focal point, its water quality and ecology have been severely degraded over time as extensively documented in numerous reports prepared over the years by the Deal Lake Commission (DLC). The most extensive and recent assessment of the lake and its watershed is provided in the 2011 Deal Lake Watershed Protection Plan (DLC 2011). The Characterization and Assessment section of the Watershed Protection Plan (WPP) clearly documented that the majority of the lake’s past and continuing problems are directly linked to the inadequate management of the stormwater discharged from the surrounding watershed into the lake and its tributaries. This is a common theme for all of New Jersey’s coastal lakes. Historically, little effort has been taken to manage the volume, rate and especially the quality of stormwater runoff prior to its release into the lake or its tributaries. The DLC has repeatedly documented that the existing stormwater infrastructure system uses the lake as a regional stormwater management “basin” for the surrounding communities. The data and information compiled in the Characterization and Assessment section of the WPP clearly showed that any meaningful improvement in the water quality of Deal Lake and its tributaries will not be possible unless a series of measures are put in place to address the lack of proper stormwater management.