JACKSON— A$1.3 million bond ordinance that is needed to pay for storm-water basin improvements near Don Connor Boulevard was adopted by the Jackson Township Council on Dec. 27, kick-starting the projects for 2012.
The upgrades, which include the installation of a bio-retention system that is designed to reduce nitrogen runoff and the construction of a New Hampshire model gravel wetland, are designed to better filter any runoff from entering the Barnegat Bay.
“The township has dozens, if not hundreds of basins,” Township Engineer Dan Burke told the Tri-Town News when the plan was initially approved in September. “[We plan to] upgrade this particular basin from its original design to a higher level of quality output so the [water that] reaches the Barnegat Bay is not as contaminated as it currently is.”
As part of the state Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Barnegat Bay 100 percent principal loan forgiveness financing program, the bond originates from legislation signed by Gov. Chris Christie in August that included about $16 million from the state Environmental Infrastructure Trust.
Plans described within the project include the retrofitting of a bio-retention system to the current detention-style basin on Grant Lane and Wilson Boulevard near Don Connor Boulevard.
Also slated for construction is a New Hampshire-style gravel wetland at the basin, which will incorporate indigenous water-based plants to further filter rain water.
“This is a new generation of basins which helps remove the nutrients,” Burke said. “It’s an enhanced system that we are putting within the confines of that existing basin.”
The approved Jackson project is one of 25 Barnegat Bay preservation projects proposed to the DEP earlier this year that were eligible for funding. About $17 million was set aside for projects aiming to address the Barnegat Bay watershed.
According to the ordinance adopted by the council, the expected usefulness of the planned improvements is about 40 years.
Funding for the project has already been allocated by the state, but the money will not be awarded until March 2012, with construction to begin shortly after.