Does Stockton University Exhibit Good Stormwater

Management Practices?

Alexis Baker
Rebecca Gorenstein
Connor Johnston
John Reilly

Environmental Issues (ENVL 4300)

Spring 2023

Stockton University

Instructor: Dr. Tait Chirenje

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Abstract

This report is designed to discuss Stockton University's Stormwater Management Plan, focusing

on stormwater basins. There are two main stormwater basins- detention and retention. Stockton

students conducted a survey of the labeled basins at Stockton University to determine the grade

of these basins. This was done using criteria adapted from the NJDEP Stormwater Management

Best Practices. The basins at Stockton University performed poorly under this rating system

(Table 1), and can be further read about below.

Table of Contents

Introduction 3
Methods 3
Results & Discussion 4
Conclusion 9
References 9
Appendices 11
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Introduction

Stormwater management practices are crucial for maintaining water quality. Stormwater
can be defined as water that results from precipitation in any form and flows over land surfaces
(NJDEP, 2016). Managing stormwater is necessary for flood control, minimizing erosion,
maintaining groundwater recharge and integrity of culverts and bridges (NJDEP, 2020). A
measure taken to manage stormwater includes the Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan
(SWPP). These plans allow the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to protect water quality
by controlling pollutants that are released into a watershed. There are 8 sections that outline the
goals of SWPPs and are as follows: Site evaluation/assessment and planning, Erosion and
sediment control BMPS, Good Housekeeping BMPS, Selecting Post-Construction BMPs,
Inspections, Record Keeping and Training, Final Stabilization, and Certification and Notification
(NJDEP, 2023). Furthermore, the New Jersey Stormwater Best Management Practices Manual
(BMP manual) N.J.A.C. 7:8 specifies the stormwater management practices that are required for
“new major development” in New Jersey (NJDEP, 2023). The BMP Manual was a cooperative
effort “developed by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, in coordination
with the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, the New Jersey Department of Community
Affairs, and the New Jersey Department of Transportation” (NJDEP, 2023). Additionally, the
NJDEP notes that stormwater basins are also an effective way of managing flooding. Stormwater
basins are structures that are “used to detain and treat stormwater runoff. Basins help prevent
flooding, especially flash flooding, along New Jersey’s watercourses” (NJDEP, 2023). Stockton
University created a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SPPP) in which stormwater
measures have been designated, such as rain gardens and stormwater basins across the campus in
Galloway, New Jersey. For this report, basins were located and evaluated for effectiveness.
Grades were assigned to each basin based on parameters such as whether there are inlet/outlet
channels, practicality of the slope, etc.

Methods

Our team evaluated Stockton University’s stormwater basins by visual assessment. We went out
and observed the basins during sunny weather. We took pictures of the basins to further evaluate
them using New Jersey Stormwater Management Practices. The New Jersey Stormwater
Management Practices guide outlines the regulation and management practices (NJ DEP, 2023).
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Using the guide we can grade basins based on how well they perform their role in stormwater
management. A map was made in ArcGIS Pro displaying locations of the five stormwater basins
on Stockton University’s Galloway Campus.

Results & Discussion

Figure 1: Map of current basin locations.

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Photo 1: Storm water inflow into Lot 8A Basin.

Photo 2: Tennis Court Basin

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Photo 3: Lot 8A Detention Basin with informative sign. The sign describes what detention basins
are and their use in preventing localized flooding and storm sewer runoff.

Photo 4: Storm water inflow to Tennis Court Basins.

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Figure 2: Diagram showing the difference between a Detention Basin and Retention Basin. A
Retention Basin is meant to hold a permanent but varying level of water based on rain. A
Detention basin holds storm water in its body, but there is an outlet to allow the water to slowly
drain into the ground in order to not overload the storm sewers.

The criteria used to determine the grading of Stockton’s detention basins around campus
are if they have inlet/outlet channels, if there is any maintenance with sediment buildup, and the
practicality of the slope, depth, size, and placement of each basin. Each has received a grade in
each area, which can be found in the appendix (Table 2), and an overall grade for each basin is
shown in Table 1. One criteria that was not able to be measured was the 73 hour rule. This rule
for detention basins means that within 3 days all of the water being detained in the basin must be
emptied and filtered into the ground. This also keeps mosquitoes from settling in the area.
The lot 8 ABC basins, the Athletic Field Basin, and the Tennis Court basin do not meet
many requirements for detention basins, despite being labeled as such. According to the NJDEP
Stormwater Management Best Practices, an infiltration basin should contain both an inflow
channel and a controlled outflow channel. Under this definition the lot 8 basins do not contain an
adequate controlled outflow channel. Lot 8ABC basins have an outflow channel, but are too low
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in the basin. With the outflow channel they currently have, any water retained in the detention
basin would flow back out through the tunnel that flows under the road and into the field across
the street (Photo 1). No water is being detained, therefore no water is being released into the
ground - which is the whole point of a detention basin. The other basins do not contain a
traditional outflow channel, disqualifying them from being considered detention basins.
Similarly, the Athletic Field Basin and Tennis Court Basin both have inflow channels but
lack outflow channels (Photo 2). The third detention basin in Lot 8C has a rock inflow channel,
but both the other two Lot 8 basins do not. This would disqualify both areas for both infiltration
and detention basins.
All Stockton Retention Basins are shallow, discreet, and have little vegetation. The basins
with inflow channels are made of rocks. Lot 8C Basin has stone inflow channels leading from a
stone parking lot, which is a permeable surface. But both other Lot 8 basins, bordering a road, do
not have inflow leading from the roads to channel runoff and stormwater. The Tennis Court
basin has two inflow channels: one channeling from between the two courts, and one channeling
in from the dirt pathway on the other side. The Athletic field basin has three inflow channels
leading from the tennis courts, one shown in Photo 4. The rock channels that Stockon has chosen
to use to lead stormwater into the detention basins prevent the inflow of sediment, which would
inevitably fill the basins, leveling the area back out.
There are not many noticeable signs of sediment maintenance in these basins, but there
are signs of mowing. Any grasses or shrubs growing in the basins are cut short. The Basins with
outflow tunnels in Lot 8 have signs of sediment being shoveled out of the tunnel entrance to keep
the build up from preventing the outflow of water.
The basins themselves are large enough for each area it maintains. The Athletic and
Tennis country basins do not have very steep slopes, but are deep enough to hold the amount of
water their areas would attract. The shallower slopes means the slope reaches further, pulling
water from further away in. The Lot 8 basins have steeper slopes, but this makes sense because
they border roads and parking lots. The basins with stone inlet channels help prevent erosion and
the build of sediment within. But, there is not enough information about the maintenance at
stockton to give a proper rating in this area for all basins, since they do not all have inlet or outlet
channels. But the lack of vegetation surrounding and within the basins means there are no root
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systems to prevent erosion to the side of the basins with heavy rainfall - and heavy rainfall is
what these basins are built for. The basins have poor measures to prevent erosion.
Table 1: Stockton University Detention Basin Grading
Basin Stormwater Management Ranking

Lot 8A Basin D - POOR

Lot 8B Basin D - POOR

Lot 8C Basin D - POOR

Athletic Field Basin D - POOR

Tennis Court Basin D - POOR

Conclusion

With the results obtained (Table 1), Stockton University displays poor stormwater management
in regard to water detention and retention basins. The main reason for the basin’s lackluster
performance is due to them failing to meet the requirements to be labeled as basins. Even
without evaluating the definition requirements for basins, they display poor attributes such as
slope, depth, area, erosion mitigation, and maintenance of sediment (Appendix Table 2). The
results come as a disappointment as Stockton University advertises itself as a “green school”
with emphasis on environmental science, yet implements poor stormwater management
practices. The results of this study could be used to incentivize the school to redo their
stormwater management system to meet the criteria and get better rankings.

References

N.J.A.C. 7:8 STORMWATER MANAGEMENT. NJDEP. (2020, March 2). Retrieved March 1,
2023, from https://www.nj.gov/dep/rules/rules/njac7_1d.pdf
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NJ DEP. (n.d.). Chapter Three Stormwater Management Practices. Stormwater. Retrieved

March 1, 2023, from https://stocktonstormwater.weebly.com/

NJDEP division of Land Use Regulation. (n.d.). Retrieved March 2, 2023, from
https://www.nj.gov/dep/landuse/activity/basin.html

NJ Stormwater Best Management Practices Manual. NJDEP New Jersey Department of

Environmental Protection. (2020, February). Retrieved March 1, 2023, from
https://nj.gov/dep/stormwater/bmp_manual2.htm

Appendices

Appendix A: Figures and Tables

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Figure 1

Figure 2
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Table 1: Stockton University Detention Basin Grading

Basin Stormwater Management Ranking

Lot 8A Basin D - POOR

Lot 8B Basin D - POOR

Lot 8C Basin D - POOR

Athletic Field Basin D - POOR

Tennis Court Basin D - POOR

Table 2:

Lot 8A Basin Lot 8B Basin Lot 8C Basin Athletic Field Tennis Court
basin Basin

Inlet F F F B B
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Outlet D F F F F

Maintenance C N/A N/A N/A N/A

of Sediment

Slope/Depth - C C C B B
is it a big
enough basin
for the area it
is by / is there
anything to
fight erosion /
is there enough
slope to let
water easily
into the basin?

Appendix B: Photos
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Photo 1: Storm water inflow into Lot 8A Basin.

Photo 2: Tennis Court Basin

Photo 3: Lot 8A Detention Basin with informative sign. The sign describes what detention basins are and
their use in preventing localized flooding and storm sewer runoff.
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Photo 4: Storm water inflow to Tennis Court Basins.

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Photo 5: Lot 8A Basin