Union Township Receives Grant to Develop a Sidney Brook Watershed Protection Plan

Sidney Brook is a headwater stream of the South Branch of the Raritan River located in Union and Franklin Townships, just above the Round Valley Reservoir intake.  It is a Category 1 (C1) designated stream meaning it has exceptional ecological, recreational, or aesthetic character, or that it is an exceptional resource for fisheries, water supply, or open space.  Despite this characterization, Sidney Brook’s existing water quality and ecological condition are poorly known and are threatened by accelerated development south of Interstate 78. 

Union Township was recently awarded a 319(h) grant through NJ Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Watershed Management to develop a Watershed Protection Plan for the Sidney Brook watershed.  The grant project will create a plan by bringing together stakeholders to first study and document the existing stream conditions.  The stakeholders will then develop recommendations to protect the water quality of Sidney Brook and to enhance the water quality and ecological integrity of this valuable stream resource.  The goals of the project are to provide an accurate characterization of the stream’s surface water quality, identify the likely pollutant loading sources and human stressors in the Sidney Brook watershed, determine the watershed protection measures that will prevent degradation of the stream’s water quality and, where feasible and appropriate, make improvements in surface water quality for the creek and its tributaries.

The need for a Sidney Brook Watershed Protection Plan stems from both the lack of water quality data for this C1 stream and from the mixture of regional planning protections across the watershed that will heighten the pressures for landscape transformations and development.  More specifically, although Sidney Brook is identified as a FW2-NT(C1) stream in the surface water classifications, the stream is not currently identified on the New Jersey 2004 Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report (i.e., the 303(d) and 305(b) Integrated List).  The lack of data that resulted in its omission from the Integrated List is particularly problematic considering the population of state-threatened wood turtles that inhabit the stream.  In addition, the stream’s watershed contains areas outside the Highlands Region, as well as lands within both the Highlands Planning and the Highlands Preservation areas.  Together, this lack of data and the imminent changes to the watershed could lead to substantial undocumented reductions in the water quality of Sidney Brook, changes which would affect the region’s water supply through the Round Valley Reservoir intake.  View Map of proposed sampling sites.

Union Township has contracted with Princeton Hydro, LLC, who has extensive expertise in the development and implementation of water and watershed protection and restoration initiatives.  Other project partners are South Branch Watershed Association, the NJ Water Supply Authority, Franklin Township and the Hunterdon County Planning Board.

The Sidney Brook watershed provides an outstanding array of ecological and social services for the residents of New Jersey, including drinking water supply, recreational opportunities, and wildlife protection.  Yet the threats to the watershed are great.  An integrated approach to protecting this stream and its watershed will protect those qualities and services that Sidney Brook provides.