Posted on June 21, 2023
Lake Hopatcong is the largest lake in New Jersey, but it is not a monolithic entity. While the name Hopatcong probably means nothing like the old legend claims (“Honey Waters of Many Coves”), there are a lot of coves and inlets plus a man-made notch – Landing Channel – at the lake’s southernmost point in Roxbury.
The channel is now the subject of a $113,650 grant to Roxbury from the New Jersey Highlands Council.
The grant will pay for a study on a “beneficial reuse and dredging” project in the channel, a project that aims to reduce nutrient-heavy sediment and restore wetland habitat in the cove to improve water quality on Lake Hopatcong, according to the Roxbury-based Lake Hopatcong Foundation (LHF).
A survey by Princeton Hydro, an engineering firm contracted to the Lake Hopatcong Commission (LHC) and funded by a state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) grant, estimated more than 250,000 cubic yards of sediment were in the 47-acre channel in 2016. The survey was part of an assessment of 21 areas around the lake being considered for water quality improvement projects.
The dredging of Landing Channel was listed as a high priority for water quality due to the amount of accumulated sediment relative to the depth of the water. This sediment harbors a large amount of organic and inorganic phosphorus that fuels the growth of aquatic vegetation and algae including possible harmful algal blooms, according to the LHF.
In addition to being one of the shallower sections of the lake, Landing Channel also includes the Floating Island, a land mass first mapped in 1882. Floating Island’s size fluctuated over the years, but has reduced significantly since 1960, resulting in a loss of wetland and shoreline habitats.
“The proposed beneficial reuse/dredging project would rehabilitate the island with the sediment removed from Landing Channel, which would reduce phosphorus in the lake and increase wetland habitat at a lower cost than simple dredging, as removing the sediment is costly,” notes the LHF. “These kinds of projects have been completed at the shore, but to our knowledge, have not been attempted in a freshwater ecosystem in New Jersey.”
The study to be conducted by Princeton Hydro will provide an updated and more refined assessment of the cove, including a sediment sampling and analysis plan, a wetland assessment and an engineering plan for the project.
Additionally, the grant will cover obtaining the relevant ecological data from Landing Channel and Floating Island required for the permitting and design phase of the project. This data will serve as a baseline of “pre-project” conditions, providing a means of quantifying the ecological benefits of post-project conditions.
Landing Channel is rich in history. It was created in the 1800s to connect the Morris Canal to Lake Hopatcong to allow steamboats to transport passengers from the Lake Hopatcong Station to their lake destinations.
The Lake Hopatcong Steamboat Company (the Black Line) was not allowing the Hopatcong Steamboat Company (the White Line) to access the Lackawanna Railroad at Landing. Those boats could only access the Central Railroad of New Jersey at Nolan’s Point, said historian Marty Kane.
However, by the 1890 season, the White Line had contracted for dredging a channel toward the canal. At that point, tourists could exit the steamers and take the trolley to the train at Landing Station, the current headquarters of the LHF.
The White Line steamboats were double-decker with a deep draft and navigated the channel well.
The LHF notes the channel was kept clear with routine dredging until 1990s. However, sediment was allowed to accumulate for the last three decades.
Roxbury Township Department of Public Works Director Rick Blood said he spoke to some “old timers” from the DPW and no one remembered any navigation dredging, although the township did remove sediment from the drain outlets during the 5-year draw downs of the lake.
In the early 1960s, the lake was lowered by eight feet in the hope that the cold winter would kill weeds, Blood noted. However, it was a mild winter, especially by the standards of those years, and the plan didn’t work. Workers did pluck some stumps, Blood said, noting that stumps were also removed in other years.
