WHAT CAN YOU DO TO KEEP SPRING LAKE CLEAN??

 This is a request to all residents who live near a storm drain:   please pick up the litter.

When the rain falls hard on South Plainfield, a lot of it runs into Spring Lake.  Spring Lake Park was designed as a flood detention basin.  It fills up, water overflowing the paths, but the basements of the surrounding houses stay dry.     After the rain stops, the lake sinks to its usual level.  The high water line is marked by a drift of litter left behind in the wake of the ebbing flood.

Where does all this trash come from?  Do the people who walk, jog, and bike in the park really throw litter in the lake?  Most people are very proud of Spring Lake Park.  It is hard to believe they could be so thoughtless.

 Actually, most of the litter in the lake is not thrown there directly.  It comes from debris that is carelessly dropped in the roadways around the Borough.  A heavy rain washes it into the storm sewers.  Storm sewers are designed to collect surface water and carry it underground to the nearest stream.  Those in the central part of the Borough empty right into the lake. 

Some people throw litter into storm sewer catch basins on purpose, mistakenly thinking the water goes to a sewage treatment plant where impurities are removed.  These people have good intentions - they don't want to just drop their discards in the street - but they produce the same bad results as the anti-social litterbug.

New Jersey recently adopted a series of regulations requiring municipalities to prevent rain water from being contaminated in the storm sewers.  One measure is to replace old-style catch basins with new “Eco-grates.” They have smaller holes, to keep debris from washing into the drain.   These new drain grates must be installed as part of road work projects, so that eventually all the old grates will have been replaced.   Some have already been installed along Belmont Avenue, for instance.

The new grates are effective at keeping larger items such as bottles, cans and fast food wrappings out of the storm drains.  As the number of Eco-grates increases, the amount of “floatable” litter in Spring Lake should decrease. 

But the bottles and cans don’t just vaporize.  They sit on top of the storm drain, trapping other debris and leaves.  It doesn’t take long before the storm drain is clogged.  Then a heavy rain will flood the street.  In the winter, ice slicks can form.

Therefore, all Borough residents should be careful about keeping litter out of the streets.  Use a litter can, or hold onto your discard until you get home.  When setting out your recyclables for pickup, be sure to secure the container so it doesn’t tip over.  On windy days, set your stack of newspapers on top of the bottles and cans to keep them from blowing out.  

Residents who live near a storm drain should take the responsibility of periodically cleaning up any accumulated litter.   The Borough’s public works resources are limited, and the only way we will keep the streets clean and the drains clear is if the community works together to achieve that goal.

Remember also that in addition to the visible contaminants like litter and pet waste, invisible pollution washes down the drain into Spring Lake and the Bound Brook.  Motor oil and antifreeze drips in your driveway, lawn fertilizers, weed killers and deicing salts all are washed by stormwater into our lake and streams.  For more information about what you can do to improve the quality of our water supply, visit the Department of Environmental Protection’s website at www.state.us.nj/dep/stormwater.