The Sparkill Creek

The Sparkill Creek Restoration Project was founded by an environmentalist from Piermont New York. He assembled a variety of professionals, politicians and local residents to take part. The common goal is to drastically improve the environmental and recreational quality of The Sparkill Creek. Restoration in this case, means returning an area to a successful self-sustaining ecosystem with both clean water and healthy habitats that support fish, wildlife and recreational use. Restoration usually doesn't focus on a single species, instead it is meant to replicate the original natural system as a whole. The goal is to help rebuild a healthy, functioning system that works like it did before it was polluted or destroyed. The project consists of volunteering, a public outreach campaign, environmental studies, professional scientific work and a cooperative effort with the government.

General Plan of Action

Clean It - Pick up garbage. Find and prevent sources of pollution. Remediate soil and water.

Restore It - Remove invasive plants along the banks of the creek. Plant native vegetation in the areas that are susceptible to erosion and to receiving pollutants and litter. Stabilize the land in the watershed.

Study It - Gather the data that is needed to get a better understanding of the condition of the creek as well as to facilitate the government on their future projects.

Educate Public - Use tools like this website to alert local residents about the issues that are going on with the creek, the implications of their actions and what they can do to help.

Specific Plan of Action

Prevent

1. Find out if there are any illegal pipe connections to the creek. It is very possible that some connections to the creek that were installed in an era prior to environmental regulation still exist. In order to find out the truth, the entire length of the creek will have to be inspected and it will be.

2. Inspect commercial, industrial, and municipal activities adjacent to the creek to determine if they are in violation of present day environmental laws. Is the wastewater treatment plant doing enough to keep sewage out of the creek? Can the car wash be fined for spraying soap 20 feet from the creek? What about the gas station with all the gas and oil that drips on the ground? This will be addressed during the inspection of the entire creek and by consulting with the NYSDEC. In addition, satellite imagery will be used to see if anything suspicious appears to be going on. We have already found one guilty party.

3. Confirm that the proper silt control measures are being taken at all of the appropriate places in the watershed of the creek. Follow up on the status of the dredge spoils from the skating pond and the undeveloped lot on Ferdon Avenue, both adjacent to the Ferdon Mill Pond.

4. Speak with the groundskeepers of The DeWint House, The Rockland Country Club, Rockleigh Country Club and other establishments with property bordering the Sparkill Creek and associated tributaries. These people need to have a full understanding of what is going on downstream. Compile a checklist of these large properties and follow up to see if progress was made in reducing the amount of fertilizers that go from their lawns and turf into the creek.

5. Reinforce liability for pollution and litter. The government is just letting local businesses leave their property adjacent to the creek trashed. There are massive amounts of waste next to the creek on these industrial and commercial properties. It is about time that these companies take responsibility for the condition that their property is in. No more Tragedy of The Commons, everyone must play their part. The appropriate agency will be contacted about companies and/or residents who neglect their property.

6. Install a Riparian Buffer Zone. Determine what vegetation to obtain to most effectively obstruct the introduction of foreign substances into the creek. Determine what native vegetation is most effective for erosion control and update the website with the names and information on how to obtain it. One of the people who offered to help with the project is a landscape architect who conducted a graduate thesis on The Sparkill Creek. We will work with him to determine the appropriate method to strengthening the riparian buffer zone along the creek. The narrow strips of land along Ferdon Avenue & Route 303 will be addressed first. These areas are public property where there is no separation between the road and the creek other than a guardrail and grass. These are areas where runoff, litter, and road salt are going directly into the creek. Planting vegetation can physically block harmfull substances and the vegetation can act as a filter. The Rockland County Drainage Agency will be notified and we will abide by their requests to assure that no vegetation that we install backs water up onto the road.

7. Investigate the cause of metals in the creek. This may be a result of the weathering of metal structures and pipes in and around the creek. Rust is clearly entering the creek from the 9W Viaduct support structures. Lead and selenium found in macroinvertebrates could be linked to old drainage pipes. The metals may also be attributed to automobile-related runoff which is why the drainage of roads and parking lots will be looked at closely.

8. Determine if any brownfields border The Sparkill Creek, and if so perform FOIL requests to determine what is being done to control the release of contamination into the creek.

9. Advocate the protection of the watershed. Marisco Ct. is a street in Blauvelt that is the epitome of poor planning. It cuts through parkland which lowers the quality of the park and it bisects one of the only clean parts of The Sparkill Creek. This is what happens when money, taxes and land rights clash with sensible zoning and land use practices. These battles are frequent and they require environmental defense. There are not many more places to squeeze developments in the Sparkill Creek watershed, although they do exist. The "Cowboy Fields" in Piermont is an example of one of these properties in the midst of such a battle. Professional representation is needed in such cases and this project will address those needs.

10. Notify and educate the public about what is going on with the creek by updating the website and forming a listserv of all those interested in becoming active with the project. At the appropriate time, distribute flyers with the name of the website to every single resident and business along the creek.

11. Obtain and restore signage. Repaint the Brookside Wildlife Sanctury sign in the Ferdon Mill Pond. Obtain Sparkill Creek and Anti-Littering signage and strategically place them.

12. Destroy all ATV trails in the watershed. Not only are these trails illegal as they trespass on various properties, but they causing substantial damgage to the watershed by killing vegetation and fueling erosion. There is an ATV trail in Sparkill and Palisades that literally goes through the creek. This trail will be no longer thanks to The Sparkill Creek Restoration Project.

Monitor

1. Monitor erosion on a regular basis and especially after large storms. There are likely specific reasons why sedimentation is occurring at higher rates in some place than others. Find out if certain properties can be linked to noticeable increases in sedimentation. Determine the extent of the area that siltation is occurring and determine the degree that it is impacting The Piermont Marsh.

2. Perform a survey of The Sparkill Creek biota. Build on previous studies to obtain up to date information on the health of the creek. Find out where the periphyton is occurring and compare the results to the survey of biota. The NYSDEC will be notified of the study and their protocol will be followed.

3. Sample and record the water chemistry levels at strategic points. Compare to the water chemistry data to the current survey of biota and all available historic data.

4. Sample for contamination follow NYSDEC protocol then document all of the results and share with the appropriate agencies.

5. Determine where garbage is entering the creek. Coordinate this activity with the clean up activies and other monitoring activities.

6. Conduct sampling around the wastewater treatment plant. After 15 years of environmental studies, the wastewater treatment plant is looking like a really likely source of organic waste. Monitor areas upstream and downstream of the plant to determine the degree that effluent is impacting the creek.

7. Inventory the parking lots that either drain directly into the creek, or drain into drainage basins that connect to the creek. Design site-specific plans to increase the buffer inbetween the parking lots and the creek.

Study

1. Ferdon Mill Pond Erosion Study - A study to facilitate the Ferdon Mill Pond restoration. Perform an erosion assessment and flood mitigation study. Determine what exactly the bottom of the pond consists of today. For example, how much of the bottom of the pond is detritus vs sediments? Perform a geologic profile 0'-3' feet below the the bottom of the pond. Construct maps of the subsurface area of the Ferdon Mill Pond. A determination of the true ecological and recreational value it currently possesses will be assessed and compared to the potential post-restoration conditions.

2. Tappan Flooding Study - This study will focus on the potential causes of flooding in Tappan other than those being addressed by the government. The goal is to formulate ideas and solutions to help prevent such flooding from occurring in the future. It is the belief of this organization that inadequate bridges are only part of the flooding problem.

3. "Eco Friendly Dredging" Pilot Study - A pilot study of utilizing local unemployed citizens to manually dig up silt in the creek bed, load it into buckets and dump it onto a truck for disposal. This would not only keep local money in the town, but it would temporarily lower local unemployment and prevent the destruction and pollution associated with mechanical dredging.

4. Wastewater Treatment Plant Modification Feasibility Study - Should monitoring activities suggest that the wastewater treatment plant is causing significant harm to The Sparkill Creek, develop a list of options to prevent this. Test the hypothesis that the wastewater treatment plant plays a significant role in the flooding of the creek when they release millions of gallons of water into it. Work with the engineers to determine what theoretically would need to be done to eliminate discharges into the creek. The goal is to facilitate a long term plan (15-20 years) to eliminate all untreated discharges into the creek and to reduce flooding.

5. Dam Removal Study - What would happen if both of the dams on the Sparkill Creek were removed? What would this mean to neighbors? Would this solve the flooding? How much would it cost? What kind of permits are needed? What ecological effects would this have?

6. Wetland Reconnection Study - After extensive research it has been determined that one of the major factors causing problems with the Sparkill Creek is the disconnect that has occurred between the surrounding wetlands and the creek itself. This study will inventory the wetlands around the creek, the storage capacity of these wetlands and the methods to reconnect them to the creek in an effort to mitigate flooding and ecourage filtration.

Develop

A Ferdon Mill Pond Restoration Plan - Considering the goals and resources of The Sparkill Creek Restoration Project, it is necessary to become actively involved with the Ferdon Mill Pond. The goal of the future work at the Ferdon Mill Pond is to address the concerns of local residents, restore habitats, reduce flooding and improve recreational opportunites. All of this must be done for little or no cost to the Village of Piermont. Based on this information, we will evaluate multiple options for displacing the silt on-site. Options will be evaluated based on cost, feasilbility, impact to water flow, effect on flooding, degree of habitat restoration and the environmental impact of work. It is the belief of The Sparkill Creek Restoration Project that additional environmental studies and pilot studies should be conducted prior to any relocation of silt. Multiple options are currently being evaluated and we look forward to working with The Village of Piermont on this exciting project.

A Youth Education Program - Host a science lesson for Tappan Zee Elementary students on The Sparkill Creek wildlife. Teach them what a watershed is and how close and connected their school grounds are to the creek, even though they can't see it. Construct bird nests with the students, then place them up and down the creek when the lesson is over. Take pictures of the nests when they have eggs and baby birds, then send them back to the students. Cooincide with bird monitoring activities.

A Wildlife Corridor Plan - Develop a plan to strengthen the wildlife corridor from The Piermont Marsh to The Ferdon Mill Pond. Work with private land owners along The Sparkill Creek to aid in the development of such a plan. Contact the agencies that are closely involved with The Piermont Marsh and see if they have any professional reccommendations or resources that they would like to contribute.

Remedy

Support all activities that remedy the problems with the creek after they have been approved by the appropriate agency. This includes bioremediation, bioaugmentation, phytoremediation, wetland creation, habitat restoration and riparian buffer zone installation.

Acquire Permits through the NYSDEC and Army Corps of Engineers.

Stabilize the banks using erosion mats, natural walls and vegetation.

Design and install a windbreak by the sewage plant and coincide with bank stabilization.

Remove sediment where erosion is ruining fish habitats.

Start a nursery to produce a self-sustaining source of vegetation.

Plant shrubs & trees throughout the watershed.

Reintroduce certain native species into the creek.

Associated Pictures