Watersheds in Voorhees
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Watersheds in Voorhees
Watersheds in Voorhees Township
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Watershed Area 18
Area 18 has been recently revised to include Cooper River, Big Timber, Mantua, Newton, Oldmans, Pennsauken, Pompeston, Raccoon, Repaupo, and Woodbury Creeks, as well as Baldwin Run, Swede Run and Maple Swamp. This management area covers all or parts of Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties, including 68 municipalities encompassing 391 square miles.
The Cooper River is 16 miles long and its watershed encompasses an area of 40 square miles. The River Flows through Camden County to the Delaware River at Camden City. The Significant tributaries include the North Branch Cooper River and Tindale Run. There is intense development along the main stem and the areas adjacent to the North Branch. Major impoundments include Cooper River Lake, Kirkwood Lake, Evans Pond, Linden Lake, Hopkins Pond, and Square Circle Lake. The Overall land use on this watershed is primarily urban/suburban.
Big Timber Creek drains an area of 63 miles. The Mainstem and most of the south branch divide Gloucester and Camden Counties before flowing into the Delaware River near Brooklawn, south of Camden. Major tributaries include Otter Creek, Beaver Brook, and Almonesson Creek. Major impoundments are Blackwood Lake, Grenloch Lake, Hirsch Pond, and Nash's Lake. This Watershed is primarily urban/suburban with forests at the headwaters and cities at the mouth of Big Timber Creek.
Mantua Creek drains an area of 50.9 square miles of land. From its headwaters in Glassboro Mantua Creek flows 18.6 miles northwest to the Delaware River at Paulsboro. Major Tributaries include the Chestnut Branch which is 7 miles long, Edwards Run which is 6.9 miles long and Duffield Run which drains 2.3 square miles (Information provided by Federation of Gloucester County Watersheds).
Oldmans Creek drains an area of 44 square miles and flows on the Coastal Plain to the Delaware River. This Creek, 20 miles long, marks the boundary between Gloucester and Salem Counties. Tidal Marshes exist at the mouth of this creek, while the western third of the creek is tidal. Major Tributaries include Kettle Run and Beaver Creek. For the Most part the watershed is agricultural and forested, with some residential and industrial development.
The Pennsauken Creek drains 33 square miles of southwestern Burlington County and northern Camden County. This creek flows into the Delaware near Palmyra, New Jersey. The North Branch of the Pennsauken is in Burlington County, while the south branch is the boundary between Burlington and Camden Counties. Industry is concentrated at the mouth of the Pennsauken Creek. Much of the watershed is developed urban/suburban area, with the remainder divided between agriculture and forested land
The Raccoon Creek Watershed contains approximately 40 square miles and drains central Gloucester County. The Creek itself is 19 miles long and flows from Elk Township to the Delaware River, across Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania. While there are several minor tributaries, the only significant one is the South Branch of the Raccoon Creek. At the mouth of the Raccoon Creek are tidal Marshes, and much of the lower half of the Creek is tidal. Evan Lake, Mullica Hill Pond, and Swedesboro Lake are among the many small lakes and ponds in this area. The land use is primarily agriculture /rural, with industries located along the creek's tidal sections. However there has been recent suburban residential and commercial development in much of the watershed.
Woodbury Creek is five miles long and drains 18 square miles. It is the smallest watershed in Gloucester County. Woodbury Creek has 2 major tributaries Hessian Run and Matthews Branch. The land use characterized by commercial, urban and suburban development. Woodbury creek is the most developed watershed in Gloucester County. Despite this development much of the land along the main stem is publicly owned and used for parks, lakes, active recreation and conservation areas.
Next Steps:
The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) will be working in cooperation with NJDEP Division of Watershed Management to formulate a comprehensive watershed management plan for this region. DVRPC held a kickoff meeting on September 27, 200 at Gloucester County College to identify potential stakeholders. The meeting was a great success. Since the kickoff meeting, DVRPC along with NJDEP have held the first set of Sub region meetings at which interested stakeholders were asked to identify problems and assets in their watershed. Currently DVRPC is combining all the information from the sub-region meetings to produce a summary for WMA 18. The next set of sub-region meetings is not yet scheduled but will most likely occur sometime in January 2001.
Watershed Area 19
The Rancocas Creek Watershed (Management Area 19) is the largest watershed in south central New Jersey, and is comprised of the North Branch, South Branch and Main Stem of the Rancocas Creek, including Mill Creek. Portions of Burlington, Camden and Ocean Counties, and approximately 33 municipalities, are included in this management area which covers 360 square miles, and reaches deep into the Pinelands.
Of the 360 square miles, the North Branch drains 167 square miles and 144 miles is drained by the South Branch. The North Branch is 31 miles long and is fed by the Grenwood branch, McDonalds branch and Mount Misery Brook. The major tributaries to the South Branch include the Southwest Branch Rancocas Creek, Stop the Jade Run, Haynes Creek, and Friendship Creek.
The Mainstem flows about 8 miles and drains an area of approximately 49 square miles before emptying into the Delaware River at Delanco and Riverside. Tidal Influence occurs for about 15 stream miles extending the entire length of the mainsteam to the dam at Mount Holly on the North Branch, Vincentown on the South Branch, and Kirby Mills on the Southwest Branch. Over 40% of the watershed is covered by forest, 30% is developed land and 17% devoted to agricultural use including cranberry cultivation.
The watershed management process in Area 19 is currently underway, with the development of a Public Advisory Committee comprised of approximately 155 citizens representing state, county and municipal government, business and industry, agriculture, environmental organizations, educators and private citizens. The citizens along with NJDEP have been actively working in the process for the past two years. Through this partnership, the PAC has made many accomplishments in education and outreaching the people of the Watershed, including the production and distribution of an educational brochure about the Rancocas Creek Watershed. This brochure was distributed to all the local newspapers and all the townships in the watershed. Along with educational accomplishments, WMA 19 has made some technical accomplishments as well including identifying 9 action now projects.
Next Steps:
On November 21st, 2000 at Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge, NJDEP presented Burlington County with a check for $160,000 to facilitate the watershed management process. NJDEP Division of Watershed Management has partnered with Burlington County to continue the Management Process and the development of the Comprehensive Management Plan. The PAC along with the workgroups are currently meeting regularly, see the website calendar for meeting times, dates and locations.
Source : NJ DEP - http://www.state.nj.us/dep/watershedmgt/lowerdelaware.htm#wma18
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