As NJ lakes prepare for summer, environmental officials vow to keep them healthy

New Jersey environmental officials renewed their vow to protect the state's lakes ahead of the Memorial Day weekend with visits to three area lakes.

The state officials, including state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette and its associate commissioner for science and policy, Katrina Angarone, met with local government and community leaders Tuesday at Hopatcong State Park on the shores of Lake Hopatcong after they made similar stops at Lake Musconetcong and Greenwood Lake earlier in the day. 

Lake Hopatcong and Greenwood Lake have been heavily affected in recent years by harmful algal blooms (HABs), which are caused by excess cyanobacteria cells in the water. The two lakes were forced to close their beaches for much of the summer in 2019, and testing discovered more toxic algae the following year. 

"We've committed a lot of time and resources to partnering with lake communities and the communities that boost our state parks, like this one," LaTourette said. There are many challenges, he said, to making sure the quality of the "water body or any other is both maintained and improved upon." Without getting out and seeing what needs fixing, he said, "how do you prioritize among the things that need investment or attention?"

The group took an hourlong tour on Lake Hopatcong, the state's largest. They boarded the Floating Classroom, a 40-foot pontoon boat owned by the Lake Hopatcong Foundation. Out on the water, the group discussed the ongoing battle to keep the state's lakes environmentally healthy.

LaTourette cited the "economic imperative" of keeping lakes and other aspects of nature clean for residents to use safely.

"Our natural resources — our air, our land, our water, our fish and wildlife, our natural and historical assets — they are all doing something for the public for free," he said. "But because our environment never sends a bill, our underinvestment in its good care can too easily become the deficit spending that we all just forget."

What causes algae blooms?

The kind of weather New Jersey gets in the coming days and weeks will determine whether the dangerous algae blooms that affected the state's lakes in the last few years will return. 

A stretch of sunny days could help cause the blooms to crash, Fred Lubnow, an aquatic and watershed management expert with Princeton Hydro, has said. Or a major storm with lots of rain could help flush the lakes clean.

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But a continued pattern of short, intense storms followed by warm days could set the lakes up for persistent algae blooms through the summer, he said.

Rain will also send nutrients — mainly phosphorous — into waterways. They provided an abundance of food for the algae. The blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, prefer three conditions to bloom: warmer water, still water and elevated nutrient concentrations.

Economy killer

Hopatcong Mayor Mike Francis, whose borough is one of four municipalities that border Lake Hopatcong, called maintaining the lake "a chore we have to pay attention to." He echoed LaTourette's comments about protecting the lake, having seen for himself how the surrounding community suffers when it is closed for long stretches of the summer.

"When we get hit with problems like weeds or cyanobacteria, it kills our economy from the little mom-and-pop delis to the big marinas," Francis said. "They all get hit because people just don't come."

Francis has been among the most dedicated researchers of ways to improve the lake's water quality in recent years. He has advocated for introducing the triploid grass carp, a species of fish that can eat large amounts of aquatic plants, and has promoted aeration by implementing air diffusers into the Crescent Cove section of the lake. 

Mike Stanzilis, the mayor of Mount Arlington, made reference to the borough's Green Infrastructure Committee, which focuses on strategies to keep stormwater runoff out of the lake.

Grants and funds to help lakes

LaTourette noted several grant opportunities, including a $10 million program signed by Gov. Phil Murphy last year allocating funds to North Jersey lakes, with applications open until Saturday. The DEP, the commissioner said, is trying to get $10 million more in the coming weeks, to facilitate water quality improvements.

LaTourette also talked of the state's recently launched "Outside, Together!" initiative designed to invest in recreational opportunities and help grow ecotourism in the area. The initiative, part of the state's Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan, includes the creation of an advisory committee to help guide and recommend various features to help the community.

In last year's visit to Hopatcong State Park, LaTourette stressed the importance of rebounding from HABs and the COVID-19 shutdown in the previous two years. One year later, he said, he's optimistic about the strides the lake communities have taken and is determined to keep building on that progress.

"Environmental problems, they take a long time to build up and materialize. And once you're at the point of really experiencing the harm of an environmental problem, you're facing down a long path to making it better," LaTourette said. "We've built some traction on the issue. We have to maintain that or else it could easily devolve."