Branch Brook Lake Algal Bloom
We, Branch Brook Park Alliance, see what you see and have the same concerns. We are excited to share the Essex County Department of Parks Recreational and Cultural Affairs is working in partnership with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to address the issue through a grant awarded to New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). The algal bloom is visible in June-July and the HAB is most prevalent during the month of August. To learn more please review the information below.
What is an Algal Bloom?
As defined by the CDC, “Algae and cyanobacteria are simple organisms that live in the water. Algae and cyanobacteria can rapidly grow out of control, or “bloom,” when water is warm, slow-moving, and full of nutrients. Blooms can occur in fresh water, marine (salt) water, and brackish (a mixture of fresh and salt) water around the world. Blooms can look like foam, scum, mats, or paint on the surface of the water. A bloom can change the color of the water to green, blue, brown, red, or another color.”
Where can I learn more about Algal Blooms?
What is being done to address the issue globally?
You can learn more form the UNESCO – Global Harmful Algal Blooms website.
What is being done to address the issue nationally?
You can learn more from the United States National Office of Harmful Algal Blooms website.
What is being done to address the issue locally at Branch Brook Lake?
New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) received a grant from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to deploy the following three-year plan starting in 2021. This proposal will implement a mobile floating platform to mechanically remove HABs by air flotation using air micro-nano bubble generators. This project aims to deploy a customized multifunctional floating platform in Branch Brook Lake and Deal Lake, two of the HABs-affected lakes in New Jersey in 2019. The New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) will implement a 3-year project to install and study a mobile floating platform to mechanically remove HABs by air flotation using air micro-nano bubble generators. This project will deploy a customized multifunctional floating platform in Branch Brook Lake and Deal Lake, two of the lakes affected by HABs in the summer of 2019. This in-situ algal removal technology aims to clarify HAB-affected waterbodies, including the surface and water columns as deep as 4-6 ft. Additional objectives include a long-term HAB strategy for Branch Brook Park Lake and evaluation of additional water quality improvements achieved by the platforms for parameters such as dissolved oxygen and turbidly.
What can I do to help?
- You can help us keep the lake clean by volunteering with us on annual lake cleanup days in Spring. To learn more please contact us by email.
- You can assist the NJ-DEP in monitoring the lake by reporting ongoing changes as they occur. Click here to share photos of what you are seeing.
- As requested by the Essex County Department of Park Recreation and Cultural Affairs and as posted around the Branch Brook Lake by the department please adhere to the following.
- Do not swim in the lake.
- Do not eat fish from the lake.
- Do not allow dogs to swim in the lake nor drink the lake water.
