Royce Brook River

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The Royce Brook River (sometimes referred to as Royce's Brook) is a small "coolwater" creek (because it generally has a temperature lower than 20 degrees Celsius) located in Hillsbrough and Manville, New Jersey.

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[edit] Path

The Royce Brook River does not have a definite starting point, as it consists of several bodies of water flowing into it within its 16-square-mile (41 km²) watershed. However, the website for the Royce Brook Watershed states that it starts at the edge of the Sourland Mountains.[1] It tends to run north-east and eventually empties into the Millstone River in Manville, which is subsequently deposited into the Raritan River.

[edit] Name

The origins of the creek's name is unknown, but there is a street that runs parallel to it in Hillsborough called, "Royce Brook Road." Also, there is a local golf club called, "The Royce Brook Golf Club."

[edit] Flooding

As with the Millstone River, the Royce Brook River can flood to extreme heights. The power of Hurricane Floyd was such that it literally changed the landscape surrounding the creek and deposited much sediment into the lands surrounding it. A resident whose backyard borders Royce Brook estimates that during Hurricane Floyd, the average height in that particular area rose at least 7 feet (2.1 m) - compared to its estimated average at 1-foot (0.30 m). The majority of rainstorms with enough water erode the riverbed and deposit debris and pollution into the river.

A storm on 15 April 2007 deposited over 7 inches (180 mm) of rain into Royce's Brook, which was the most recorded since 1882. However, flooding was less severe than during Hurricane Floyd, which deposited approximately 6 to 7 inches (180 mm) of rain, and therefore resulted in less damage than the April flood.

[edit] Pollution

(This entire subtopic is based on the source "Purification of Stormwater Through Use of a Detention Basin and Riprap") Royce's Brook was tested for pollutants during rainstorms in July and October 2006. Items tested for included dissolved oxygen (DO), nitrate, phosphate, total dissolved solids, electroconductivity, temperature, and pH. It was found to have low dissolved oxygen levels and very high phosphate levels. The researcher of this project suggests that such contamination is from farms or lawns upstream which could be using soils with pesticides on them (which contain phosphates), and the phosphates will flow into Royce's Brook during a rainstorm was runoff. High levels of phosphates have been documented as encouraging too many aquatic plants to grow, using dissolved oxygen from the water (limiting it to the fish), which could be the situation in Royce's Brook. Additional evidence of high phosphate levels is that the pH of Royce's Brook consistently tested as basic, and fertilizers tend to be basic. Also, water flowing over large stones in Royce's Brook usually results in large bubbles on the surface of the water, which is usually regarded as a result of high phosphate levels.

An earlier research project was conducted in the late summer of 2004, at the same location of where the 2006 testing occurred. It tested for some of the same factors (e.g. DO, nitrate, phosphate, and pH) as the 2006 test; but was not tested during a rainstorm. There were similar results: dissolved oxygen levels were low, phosphate levels were high, and pH levels were basic (even though the pH tested as normal).

A high level of pollution exists in Royce's Brook, especially rusting iron, soda cans, plastic bottles, and plastic bags which was documented in the research project of the summer 2006.

[edit] Roads and Railroads

A series of roads and railroads cross over Royce's Brook.

In Hillsborough:

  • U.S. Highway 206
  • Amwell Road
  • Hamilton Road
  • Falcon Road
  • Sunnymead Road
  • Central New York Railroad Lines

In Manville:

  • Whalen Street
  • South Main Street

[edit] Notes

1. ^ http://www.sbmwa.org/ws_assess_lvl2.php?id=C0_179_50

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed | Watershed Assessment