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2024 Year in Review

Here's a look back at all of the activities that the SCMUA-WRWMG worked on this year!

Volunteer Engagement

• In 2024, the SCMUA-WRWMG worked with 330 volunteers who contributed 885 volunteer hours.
• In September, the SCMUA-WRWMG welcomed Jenna Black to serve as the 2024-2025 AmeriCorps NJ Watershed Ambassador for the Wallkill River Watershed.

In-Person and Virtual Lessons

• This year, 1,161 participants attended presentations and educational events led by the WRWMG.
• The SCMUA and WRWMG hosted an Earth Day educational event at the Sussex County Municipal Utilities Authority in Lafayette. 214 elementary and middle school students from Pope John Middle School (Sparta), McKeown Elementary School (Hampton), Florence M. Burd School (Andover), Lafayette Township School (Lafayette), and Hardyston Elementary School (Hardyston) attended the event.
• The WRWMG Education Specialist and SCMUA Recycling Coordinator created a joint display at the NJ State Fair to highlight the WRWMG’s stormwater management programs and the SCMUA’s recycling initiatives. In September, the pair collaborated again at Sussex County Day to educate residents about their ecological work.
• To celebrate America Recycles Day, SCMUA Recycling Coordinator, Dawn Latincsics, presented about the recycling programs available at the SCMUA as part of the Sparta Environmental Commission’s quarterly speaker series. 51 residents attended the meeting in-person or watched the recording of her presentation thus far.

Delaware River Watershed Initiative

• The SCMUA-WRWMG and over 50 conservation organizations have been working collaboratively on land acquisition and restoration projects to improve the water quality of the Delaware River.
• The SCMUA-WRWMG’s Senior Education and Outreach Specialist helped organize the 6th annual Northwest NJ Rivers Conference with 12 different workshops focused around 1) pollution and its impacts, 2) lands and forests, 3) working together, and 4) unique restoration and protection projects. Kristine presented at the event and was also honored by the NJ Highlands Coalition as the 2024 Wilma Frey Volunteer of the Year for helping to plan the Rivers Conference over the past 6 years.

Riparian Reforestation

• The SCMUA-WRWMG and volunteers planted 2,762 trees and shrubs along the Paulins Kill, Wallkill River, Glen Brook, Clove Brook, and Papakating Creek with volunteers from High Point High School, Sparta High School, Sparta Middle School, the Hun School (Princeton), Friends of the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, the Sussex County Association of Realtors, and the AmeriCorps NJ Watershed Ambassador Program.
• To celebrate Arbor Day, the SCMUA-WRWMG partnered with the Sparta Environmental Commission and Sparta Middle School to organize a student field trip to the Sparta Glen township park. Speakers from the NJ Invasive Species Strike Team, NJ Highlands Coalition, Wallkill River Watershed Management Group, and AmeriCorps NJ Watershed Ambassador Program conducted hands-on lessons with the students. As part of the day, students also planted native trees and went on a hike through the wooded trails in the park.

Agricultural Restoration

• The SCMUA-WRWMG’s Agricultural Outreach Specialist worked with USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service to plan, design, and install agricultural best management practices at local farms, including 1) erosion control practices like diversions, grassed and stone-lined waterways, and rock chutes, 2) livestock pipeline and rotational grazing systems, 3) grade stabilization structures, and 4) waste storage facilities.

Pollinator Field Establishment

• The SCMUA-WRWMG worked with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to install a 3-acre pollinator meadow at the Paulinskill Water Treatment Plant, which was the final planned restoration practice necessary to close out the WRWMG’s 2020 Delaware Watershed Conservation Fund grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

Stormwater Management

• In the spring, the SCMUA-WRWMG’s AmeriCorps NJ Watershed Ambassador organized two rain barrel community workshops, one session at Wawayanda State Park and a second session at Sparta Town Hall. A total of 23 rain barrels were constructed during the two events.
• Students at Merriam Avenue Elementary School and Hardyston Elementary School worked with the SCMUA-WRWMG’s Senior Education and Outreach Specialist as part of the WRWMG’s TreeHabilitate Program to educate youth about the benefits of trees for stormwater management. Then, each student had a chance to select a native tree to plant at home that was funded by the SCMUA-WRWMG’s grant from NJDEP.
• SCMUA-WRWMG relaunched its ash tree replacement program to combat the loss of mature ash trees in the Paulins Kill Watershed’s lake communities. A total of 200 homeowners participated in the program and planted 859 backyard trees to help decrease the volume of polluted stormwater runoff entering their lakes.
• Four new floating treatment wetlands have been installed at Swartswood Lakes and Crandon Lakes to process pollutant loading to the lakes and reduce the likelihood of harmful algal bloom (HAB) development.
• Two rain gardens (1,325 ft2) and trench drains have been installed at the Crandon Lakes Country Club to manage the stormwater runoff from the paved parking lot. Collectively, the rain gardens are projected to manage 117,419 gallons of stormwater runoff each year.