EXPENSE:

FROM PAGE 7 ers about potential brook obstructions, including tree removal and stream bank stabilization, where identified in the drone report.

Morgan said that people along the brook have experienced flooding, and "it behooves everybody to be part of the solution." She said that while homeowners live along the brook, the township needs a way to educate them on what to do should a tree fall into the stream on their property.

She said homeowners bordering the brook may have a "knowledge gap" in terms of their property's potential impacts on the waterway. She suggested mailings, and a courtesy notice to affected homeowners who own property along the brook.

"It's a shot across the bow," she said, adding that the council needs to discuss how best to get its message out about the brook. She said following notifications, addressing brook problems such as downed trees or eroded stream banks may have "financial implications" for some homeowners.

Rossi said that removing downed trees from the brook was the top priority after fixing the exposed sanitary manholes. He said that the township previously worked with the county mosquito commission to remove downed trees obstructing the waterway.

However, since a death occurred amid similar work about five years ago, the commission has nearly ended tree removal activities. Rossi said some towns have their DPW remove trees from streams, or else hire a tree service to perform such work where necessary.

Mayor:

'None of this is cheap…'

"None of this is cheap, unfortunately, and none of this was budgeted for this year," Calamari said. He said the town was hoping to pass emergency appropriations" to fund the sanitary sewer line stabilization work.

He said moneywas not budgeted for anydrone study-related findings, but "We're going to do the best we can to get it done under the financial constraints of the township."

More trees falling

Rossi said trees dying due to diseases or pests, and severe storms eroding stream banks, have caused more trees to fall into streams and cause problems. He said because the Musquapsink Brook is a Category One waterway, due to its flowing into Oradell Reservoir, a drinking water source, the DEP requires stricter regulations when restabilizing stream banks along a Category One brook.

Rossi also noted that the DEP will allow stream banks to be stabilized using sediment from instream sediment shoals. He said this offers two fixes at once: removing an existing sediment shoal from the brook and using that sediment to help stabilize an eroded bank.

Schlegel Lake property owners cry foul Passanante said it was unfair for the 267 homeowners who are part of Washington (Schlegel) Lake

Association to have to spend thousands of dollars to clean up woody debris, floatables, and sediment from eroding stream banks that washes into the lake during both small and large storms.

"It's a constant battle of all this debris," said Passanante, showing photos of trash racks in front of Schlegel Lake filled with debris following recent storms.

Rossi said, "Unfortunately, that's what happens when you put a dam along a brook," and cited examples of "on-stream ponds"such as Schlegel Lake - that must clean their trash racks constantly to prevent them from backing up or causing flooding.

Passanante said the sediment coming into the north end of the lake from the brook is making the lake's north end shallow and turning it into a swamp. He said about 8 feet of sediment has filled portions of Schlegel Lake's north end.

He suggested dredging the sediment in the lake's north end to be used to restabilize the eroded brooks near the two sanitary manholes.

However, Rossi said that the DEP did not allow that, which would involve public funds being spent on private property, and also require the so-called "dredge spoils" to be stockpiled and tested before disposal.

Rossi said public funds being used to help assist a private lake's concerns would be a problem. Passanante said that Schlegel Lake was a "hidden gem" in the township for the 267 homeowners that belong to the lake association.

Passanante said the lake association spends money on repairs to its dams and after every storm due to debris entering the lake, costing $7,000 recently and $25,000 during remnants of Tropical Storm Ida.