NEW LIFE FOR LAKE LILY, NEW JERSEY - Ellicott...

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Ellicott Case Studies

NEW LIFE FOR LAKE LILY, NEW JERSEY
by Bob Oertel
Source:  May/June 2004Land and Water Magazine with permission
100 years ago, this natural fresh water 11-acre (5 hectares) lake in Cape May Point, New Jersey, was 10 to 12 feet deep. At the turn of 2004, water was less than three feet deep. In some places it was barely a foot deep. And its water was contaminated with duck droppings.
Now, all that is changing. Lake Lily is starting over. It's getting a new life, thanks to the efforts of many concerned and dedicated individuals and organizations. The once lush growth of lilies, now only a memory, will return to their once full glory. Once again, thousands of visitors, both people and birds, will come to enjoy the refurbished beautiful Lake Lily.
A Bird Magnet
Located at the lowest point of a 192-acre (87 hectares) watershed, Lake Lily has been called a "giant pothole'.  It is at the southern tip of New Jersey, about 2100 ft (675 m) from the Atlantic Ocean and Delaware Bay. The lake and the surrounding marshy area is a "must stop over' for migrating birds. Despite the residential buildup over the years, the birds continue their centuries-old pattern of "stopping over" during their migration to and from the Canadian Maritime Provinces and the New England and mid-Atlantic states.
The many species of birds visiting this area annually attract thousands of birdwatchers from around the world. Robert J. Connor, a long time veteran of the Cape May autumn birding phenomenon, says that on some days, "birds are hanging on the bushes and shrubs and literally cover the ground. There are so many birds you just can't believe it."
Connor identified 170 different species in one 4-day visit. According to estimates, the birding interest adds up to an estimated $20 million tourist business annually for the Cape May area.
But, the presence of the millions of visiting birds has been one of the chief reasons for the deterioration of Lake Lily. The thick stand of lilies and the fish population was once able to offset the damage from bird droppings. However, a disastrous nor'easter storm in March, 1962, devastated much of the south Jersey shore, including flooding most of Cape May Point and Lake Lily. Salt water killed the lilies and vegetation around it. Several years later continuous pumping and rain runoff from the watershed allowed the lake to begin a slow recovery.
In 1979 the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), after an 8 month study, concluded Lake Lily was slowly dying from eutrophication. However no state funds were then available to correct the problem.
The Delaware County, PA, Aquarium Society was invited in 1993 to assess the lake's health. They also concluded that "Lake Lily was a classic case of eutrophication, that the copious amount of wastes produced by the birds was favoring the growth of algae, that the lake was indeed dying and would disappear in a relatively few years."
Restoration Plans
F.X. Browne, Inc. a Pennsylvania lake environmental engineering firm, was employed by Cape May Point in 1997 to develop a restoration plan for Lake Lily. Funding legislation in the State Legislature to carry out the plan was introduced in 1998. This resulted in a $468,750 grant in May 2001.
"The good news of this grant swept through our community with some of the greatest enthusiasm I have ever witnessed in my 12 years as mayor," said Malcolm Fraser. "Perhaps this was because everyone recognized and appreciated the tremendous time and effort that many have invested to conserve and protect this lake."
In 2003, the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs added a $248,500 grant. The Borough enacted a $250,000 bond ordinance to add to the state grant.
Albrecht & Heun, Cape May, NJ was awarded the contract to restore the lake. Work to be done included dredging the lake, extracting the bird guano and returning the cleaned water back to the lake. Albrecht & Heun was assisted by F.X. Browne for engineering and testing, Van Note Harvey (Borough engineer) for site surveillance, and the New Jersey Fish & Wildlife Department.
Note: An Ellicott Mud Cat™ Series 370 was used
to dredge the lake.  Click on picture below.

A long term Master Plan to return the lake to its "self sustaining glory" before the 1962 nor'easter will begin  after the initial restoration plan is completed. It's estimated that this second restoration phase will require two to three years to complete.
What Was Done/Project Used a Mud Cat™ Dredge
Two factors precluded the possibility of draining the lake and using bulldozers and trucks to remove the sediment. The high water table and closeness to the Ocean and Delaware Bay meant water would always travel through the sandy soil and enter into the lake.
There was no practical way to pump the lake dry enough to use dozers and trucks. Therefore, the mixture of sediment, guano and water was sucked up from the lake bottom with a portable cutter suction dredge.  A spinning bladed disk at the end of the suction pipe cut into the sediment and loosened it so it could be sucked up through the pipe. The slurry was then pumped through a 10" (250 mm) diameter pipe to a newly constructed sediment basin some 1,100 feet (350 m) away. The basin is located on the abandoned Harbison-Walker Magnesite Plant.  The contractor Albrecht & Heun considered its Series 370 "Dragon" dredge from Mud Cat™ as a perfect tool for the job.
The oblong-shaped sediment basin was graded so that the bottom slopes gently to one end. Three 4 ft earthen dikes, one on one side and two on the other side, extend from the sides about 2/3 of the way across the basin. A heavy plastic liner was first spread across the floor of the basin. A layer of clay was then put on top of the liner. The slurry mixture from the lake emptied into the upper end of the basin. Then, because of the gradually sloping bottom of the basin, the slurry flowed slowly in a zigzag pattern around the in-basin dykes towards the lower end of the basin.
Most of the guano sediment settled out of the slurry as it moved slowly through the basin, leaving the water virtually clear. The clean water was then recycled back into Lake Lily; thus the lake was never completely drained.
Since the clean-out stopped, the deposited guano is being allowed to dry. Once dry it will be spread as fertilizer on the land of the abandoned plant.
A New Life
The first major step in its restoration breathes new life into history-rich Lake Lily. Artifacts reveal the one-time presence of the Lenape Indians at this fresh water lake. During the Revolutionary War, it was the source of fresh water for Philadelphia residents during the British blockade. Cape May Point, settled by the Wannaker family in 1875, became a religious retreat. It was during this time in its history that lilies were planted in the lake. From then on, it has been known as Lake Lily.
Some 26,000 cubic yards (20,000 m3) of guano sediment were removed during the cleanout. This deepened the lake an average of 2-1/2 feet (0.8m).
"The cleanout now sets the stage for the community to restore the Lake's original natural ecological balance," says Malcolm Fraser, Mayor. "We are working with the New Jersey Bureau of Fish and Wildlife regarding restocking the lake with proper fish species. We're also dealing with a renowned grower of lilies to get lilies we can plant that will be similar to those in the lake in the late 1880's. We also want to get an aeration spray to help in getting the lake back to its natural ecological balance."
Mayor Fraser says all these plans "will probably keep the Committee watchfully working over the next three to five years. The whole town seems excited."
Indeed, Cape May Point, the birds and birders all have something exciting to look ahead to in the days and years ahead.


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