2005 Targeted Watersheds Grants:
Lake Hopatcong
New Jersey
WHY IS THIS WATERSHED SPECIAL?
Easily accessible by railroad to vacationers from the northeast in the 1880s, Lake Hopatcong was
historically an important tourist destination. It is the largest inland waterbody in New Jersey at
2,686 acres with a watershed encompassing over 13,500 acres. With the expansion of interstate
highways, development pressures increased as tourists and permanent residents alike flocked to
the area. Today, more than half a million people visit Lake Hopatcong each year or live in its
watershed. It remains a popular recreational resource and one of the best freshwater fisheries in
the State, with more than 10,000 registered boats.
ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES
Water quality has become a concern in the Lake Hopatcong watershed as development
pressures increase. The Targeted Watersheds Grant will focus on the following environmental
problems:
• Septic systems contribute over half of the total phosphorus load to the lake. Currently, of the
four towns in the watershed, one has no plans to connect to municipal sewer lines; although
local officials are evaluating a septic management program.
• The watershed's urbanized landscape is associated with extensive impervious coverage,
generating large quantities of stormwater runoff. This surface runoff has contributed
significantly to excessive phosphorus in the lake, which threatens fisheries and recreational
use
RESTORATION ACTIVITIES
As the lake's state-appointed steward, the Lake Hopatcong
Commission works to restore the water quality and will use the
EPA Targeted Watersheds Grant funds to:
• Address the stormwater-based phosphorus loads by installing
Best Management Practices (BMPs), including converting
detention basins to wetlands and installing other retrofits.
• Implement innovative iron oxide retrofits and compare
effectiveness at removing phosphorus.
• Install an "alternative" on-site wastewater treatment system
(OWTS) at a municipal daycare facility.
• Provide training for the Lake Hopatcong Commission on
monitoring and collection of stormwater samples, identification
and collection of aquatic plants for analysis, and collection of
groundwater samples.
• Conduct and evaluate outreach to watershed stakeholders,
including publications,
workshops and a "phosphorus-
free fertilizer" campaign
targeted to local residents.
Installation of Best Management Practices devices
will address stormwater runoff, as shown in
Jefferson Township. Credit: Lake Hopatcong
Commission
EPA840-F-07-001D
www.epa.gov/twg
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A STRONG PARTNERSHIP FOR CHANGE
Since its creation in 2001, the Lake Hopatcong
Commission has partnered with the New Jersey
Department of Environmental Protection, the four
lakeshore towns and two counties in the
watershed and the Commission's environmental
consultant, to improve the lake's water quality.
Stores around the Lake Hopatcong Watershed
display signs to promote the sale of lake-friendly
fertilizer. Credit: Lake Hopatcong Commission.
Innovative retrofits using iron-oxide sleeves to reduce the
phosphorus load will be installed in catch basins alongside
Ingram Cove in Hopatcong Borough to protect the fishery and
recreational use of the lake.
For More Information
Contact:
Donna Macalle-Holly
Administrator
Lake Hopatcong
Commission
dmhlhc@optonline.net
973-601-1070
www.lakehopatconq.org
Funding: $745,000
EPA's Targeted Watersheds
Grants
EPA's Targeted Watersheds Grants program is
a competitive grant program designed to
encourage collaborative, community-driven
approaches to meet clean water goals.
2005 Targeted Watersheds Grants - Lake Hopatcong
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