Each year Secaucus, a town that’s a mere 12 feet above sea level, spends millions in taxpayer dollars on flood control projects. And local residents would probably find no solace in knowing that sea levels in this area rise about 1.7 to 1.8 millimeters annually, according to local researchers.
These same researchers, however, are now prepared to collect valuable data that may ultimately strengthen the area’s natural flood protector: the wetlands.
On August 21, the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission (NJMC) launched a research program to measure and analyze the overall health of wetlands in the Meadowlands District. The program, a joint venture between the NJMC in Lyndhurst and the U.S. Geological Survey, will monitor the status of local wetlands at seven sites in the district, including one site at Secaucus High School.
The other six sites are located in Lyndhurst and Carlstadt.
The NJMC oversees zoning and other development in portions of 14 towns in the Meadowlands, including Secaucus. In addition, the state agency also coordinates land conservation and environmental research projects in the Meadowlands District.
The U.S. Geological Survey is already surveying wetland sites in other states – including New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Delaware.
The agency’s joint project with the NJMC is its first in the state of New Jersey.
Wetlands as natural flood guards
Healthy wetlands absorb, trap, and slowly release rain, snow melt, and groundwater, thereby controlling floods, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Wetland vegetation, in addition to plant roots, also helps to contain floodwaters, which in turn protects property and crops. These roots and vegetation also guard against erosion by helping to hold soil in place.
Wetlands throughout the U.S., however, have been ravaged, reducing their ability to effectively serve as the natural flood guards they were intended to be.
For example, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, wetlands along the Mississippi River were once able to “store” 60 days’ worth of floodwater. Today these same wetlands can hold only 12 days’ worth of floodwater because of the damage they’ve sustained.
Specifically, marsh levels appear to be falling, in part, because too little sediment is being added to wetland floors, and the materials that are present settle, decay, and become compacted – which causes marsh levels to sink further.
The U.S. Geological Survey and state agencies such as the NJMC want to keep a close watch over wetland health because sea levels are rising due to global warming. Areas already prone to flooding, such as the Meadowlands District, could potentially experience catastrophic flooding down the road and some municipal planners are eager to bolster their own anti-flood initiatives with help from nature.
Secaucus measures up
“Our seven [survey] sites were selected by vegetation type,” said Dr. Francisco Artigas, director of the NJMC’s Meadowlands Environmental Research Institute, who is overseeing the study. “The ability of [wetland] surfaces to trap the sediments depends on what plants are there. Some plants are more efficient at doing that than others. So, we have [testing] stations distributed to cover a range of vegetation types. We would like to know which plants are more effective.”
Secaucus is very rich in so-called “high marsh vegetation,” Artigas said, which is why the town was selected as one of the seven test sites.
High marsh vegetation, as distinguished from low marsh vegetation, is characterized by black grass (called Juncus gerardii in scientific jargon), salt-meadow cord-grass (Spartina patens), and a third, spikier grass known to researchers as Distichlis spicata.
Based on some anecdotal measurements that the NJMC has already collected within the past year, Artigas said he hopes the $25,000 project will find that local wetlands are in pretty good condition.
“What we know from the few measurements we have is, the marsh surface is rising about 16 millimeters a year. Now, this could all be erased with a big storm. But for the four- or five-year period that we measured it, we saw a very healthy accretion rate. So, from our past data, we believe the marshes here are very healthy in comparison to others. We believe, in other words, that our marsh surfaces are more than keeping up with rises in the sea level.”
If Artigas’ assumptions hold true, it means the Meadowlands District could be one step ahead of the effects of global warming.
Program researchers will take marsh level measurements from each of the testing sites every six months. At present the program has no end date and, depending on funding, Artigas said he hopes it will continue indefinitely.
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