Green Light: A Tour of Latest Eco-Friendly Projects

As the saying goes, "When it rains, it pours." Luckily for Parsippany residents, the Whippany River Watershed Action Committee (WRWAC) and the NJDEP are more than familiar with Mother Nature’s downpours.

On Saturday morning, the WRWAC hosted an eco-friendly bus tour, showcasing the latest green infrastructure projects situated with the Troy Brook Watershed.

Recently, the WRWAC received a grant of $185,000 toward the design, engineering and monitoring of improvements to treat storm water runoff at the Parsippany Troy-Hills township police station and municipal court complex.

The winning proposal allowed for the installment of three Filterra units into the Route 46E parking lot. The units will serve to filter runoff before it reaches Troy Brook, in order to procure the quality of the water and surrounding land. The project is a joint cooperative effort of the WRWAC, the Township of Parsippany Troy-Hills, Princeton Hydro and the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Morris County.

A project such as this—scheduled for completion in the summer of 2012—is just one example of the measures that the WRWAC is taking to preserve and protect a valuable source in our township.

Troy Brook is just one of the many sub watersheds that make up the Whippany River Watershed, a dominant resource for supplying drinking water to hundreds of thousands of people downstream, and also aiding in the replenishment of local aquifers.

Along with the installation of Filterra units into the municipal parking lot, other green infrastructures that have been implemented throughout town include rain gardens, turf stone pavers, vegetated swale, tree boxes and impervious pavers—all of which serve as ways to reduce the amount of pollutants that are carried into the Troy Brook. The tour traveled to sites that reflected these developments.

Dr. Christopher Obropta, narrator of the tour and head of the Rutgers Water Resources Program, encourages residents to be mindful of ways they can also help keep the Whippany River Watershed clean and enjoyable for all.

“Residents should keep in mind that everybody contributes to this problem, everyone who has a rooftop, a driveway, a fertilized lawn," Obropta said. "And there are very simple things they can do to manage the storm water runoff to prevent flooding and to also improve the quality of the surrounding rivers, like the Troy Brook.

"The second thing residents should remember is that they could always call their local county extension office in Morris County,” Obropta continued. “Pat Rector is the county agent and she can always provide guidance on what they can do at their homes and what they can do in their community to address these problems.”

Pat Rector, county environmental and resource management agent, stresses the importance in education and awareness of these projects.

”Take a look at what’s being done in your neighborhood and try to understand what’s going on, instead of just buzzing by it,” Rector said, “and begin to understand what you’re doing and how it impacts your streams.”

Ingrid Witty, a Rutgers master gardener and environmental steward who assists in the rain garden constructions, suggests residents should find out more about implementing rain gardens for their homes.

“They should get some information about what a rain garden is and how it works,” Witty said, “and I’d highly encourage them to attend some educational courses and try to see if you could install that in your home.”

For more information or updates about the Whippany River Watershed Action Comittee or the Rutgers Water Resources Program, visit www.wrwac.org or www.water.rutgers.edu.