Barnegat Bay–little Egg Harbor Estuary: Case Study of a Highly Eutrophic Coastal Bay System

Abstract

Abstract. The Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor Estuary is classified here as a highly eutrophic estuary based on application of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Estuarine Eutrophication Assessment model. Because it is shallow, poorly flushed, and bordered by highly developed watershed areas, the estuary is particularly susceptible to the effects of nutrient loading. Most of this load (;50%) is from surface water inflow, but substantial fractions also originate from atmospheric deposition (;39%), and direct groundwater discharges (;11%). No point source inputs of nutrients exist in the Barnegat Bay watershed. Since 1980, all treated wastewater from the Ocean County Utilities Authority's regional wastewater treatment system has been discharged 1.6 km offshore in the Atlantic Ocean. Eutrophy causes problems in this system, including excessive micro-and macroalgal growth, harmful algal blooms, altered benthic invertebrate communities, impacted harvestable fisheries, and loss of essential habitat (i.e., seagrass and shellfish beds). Similar problems are evident in other shallow lagoonal estuaries of the Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic regions. To effectively address nutrient enrichment problems in the Barnegat BayLittle Egg Harbor Estuary, it is important to determine the nutrient loading levels that produce observable impacts in the system. It is also vital to continually monitor and assess priority indicators of water quality change and estuarine health. In addition, the application of a new generation of innovative models using web-based tools (e.g., NLOAD) will enable researchers and decision-makers to more successfully manage nutrient loads from the watershed. Finally, the implementation of storm water retrofit projects should have beneficial effects on the system.

Effects of nutrient enrichment in the nation's estuaries: A decade of change

“…There is also evidence that the frequency, duration and intensity of these blooms has increased in the past decade in the Southern Maryland Coastal Bays (Trice et al, 2004). Annual bloom events have been recorded in Barnegat Bay since 1995 with some recent bloom concentrations reaching 10 6 cells Àl (Kennish et al, 2007;Olsen and Mahoney, 2001).…”

“…In fact, in the 1999 assessment (Bricker et al, 1999) the rating for HABs was 'no problem'. In both systems, several toxic and non-toxic HAB species have been observed (Olsen and Mahoney, 2001;Tango et al, 2005) but the most noted HAB is Aureococcus anaphagefferens (Kennish et al, 2007;Olsen and Mahoney, 2001;Glibert et al, 2001;Trice et al, 2004;Glibert et al, 2007), with blooms commonly occurring at category 3 levels (>200,000 cells/L), concentrations which may cause severe impacts on mortality of shellfish and reductions in submerged aquatic vegetation (Gastrich and Wazniak, 2002;Trice et al, 2004). There is also evidence that the frequency, duration and intensity of these blooms has increased in the past decade in the Southern Maryland Coastal Bays (Trice et al, 2004).…”

Benthic Invertebrate Community Composition and Sediment Properties in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, 1965−2014

“…The Barnegat Bay ecosystem is potentially under stress from human impacts, which appear to have increased over the past several decades (Kennish et al, 2007). Most of the ecosystem impacts are thought to be related to excess nutrient inputs, leading to eutrophication.…”

Toward a Comprehensive Water-Quality Modeling of Barnegat Bay: Development of ROMS to WASP Coupler

“…For the last few decades, Barnegat Bay has experienced an increase in harmful algal blooms, oxygen depletion, and a degradation of habitat (Fertig et al, 2014;Hunchak-Kariouk and Nicholson, 2001;Kennish et al, 2007;Lathrop et al, 2001). The need for a comprehensive understanding of the relation between watershed land use and water quality in the bay required a bay-wide monitoring effort supported by an advanced modeling approach.…”